Bio
Hailed as a “visionary director” by The Stranger, Dan Wallace Miller’s stage direction is “riveting… well executed, and relevant” (CityArts) and has been described as “a powerful gust of invigorating fresh air.” (Opera Today) His unique concepts and perceptive direction have proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Miller began his career championing avant-garde and innovating stagings of opera. He founded Vespertine Opera Theater which produced several site-specific productions such as The Rape of Lucretia at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle and the world premiere of Heart Mountain, an opera about the forced incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II staged in the former INS building where many of the local community leaders were held before being deported to the camps. He also staged an immersive Baroque pastiche, The Combat, with Seattle Opera which earned the following remark in a review from The Stranger: “only when I was outside again did I remember that the grief I had just been part of was not my private sorrow, but something brought forth by art.”
More recently, Miller has been dedicated to bringing grand opera to the stages of America’s most prominent theaters, including new productions of Il trovatore at Seattle Opera and Roméo et Juliette at Central City Opera. He has also made a commitment to the shaping of the next generation of opera singers by working with universities and professional training programs such as those at Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, the University of Washington, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Memphis, and Portland State University.
Last season, he directed Candide for South Florida Symphony Orchestra, a new production of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi for Portland State University, and returned to San Francisco Opera to assist on Idomeneo and the World Premiere of The Monkey King. This season he has assisted productions of Elektra at San Francisco Opera and Akhnaten at LA Opera.
Recently he directed Rigoletto for Opera San Jose, Apprentice Scenes for Santa Fe Opera, Pagliacci for Seattle Opera (his fourth production with the company), The Merry Widow for Portland State University, and Susanna for Wolf Trap Opera. Other credits include Washington National Opera, Opera Colorado, The Atlanta Opera, and Kentucky Opera.