Acclaimed by The San Francisco Chronicle as an “imaginative” director of “particular ingenuity,” director and Fulbright Scholar Jennifer Williams was recently recognized for her experimental and innovative work by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
An innovator in multimedia, immersive and site-specific approaches to opera, Williams has created performance installations throughout New York, Berlin, Hong Kong (upcoming), Washington, DC, and internationally. In addition to serving as a Drama Coach for the Houston Grand Opera Studio, she recently directed acclaimed productions for Michigan Opera Theatre and Austin Opera. A passionate advocate of contemporary opera, she has directed BMP: Next Generation, a double-bill of world premieres for Beth Morrison Projects at National Sawdust; the world premiere of Backwards from Winter for soprano, electric cello and electronics (Center for Contemporary Opera, New York); a new production of The Crucible in Berlin’s Theater im Delphi; acclaimed new productions of Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song and Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s 27 for Pittsburgh Opera; and “consistently imaginative” and “extraordinarily beautiful” new productions of Ainadamar and Dark Sisters as well as Les contes d’Hoffmann, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and La bohème for Miami Music Festival. Upcoming new productions include directing the world premiere of Carmen | Hong Kong, a new immersive multimedia adaptation of Bizet’s opera set amidst the Triad gangs of Hong Kong for More Than Musical (Hong Kong) at West Kowloon Culture District’s new Box Freespace; a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia staged in the round for Sacramento Opera; a new production of Libby Larsen’s Barnum’s Bird as an immersive circus installation for New Camerata Opera at (le) poisson rouge in New York; a fully staged, immersive multimedia installation of Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder at The Alchemical in New York; an immersive production of Rigoletto at The Box (New York); and joining the faculty of Aspen Music Festival as an Artist-in-Residence.
A sought-after acting teacher and dramatic coach, she has served as a Drama Coach for the Houston Grand Opera Studio and was slated to join the faculty of Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2020. Other recent work includes serving on the faculties of CCM Spoleto in Italy, Berlin Opera Academy, Miami Music Festival Opera Institute, and Seagle Music Colony and working with the young artist programs of the San Francisco Opera Center, Wolf Trap Opera Company, The Glimmerglass Festival, Michigan Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera, Central City Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera.
Williams trained in the Viewpoints with Anne Bogart at the SITI Company in her inaugural series of masterclasses in Viewpoints for Directors. As an associate and assistant director, she has worked with directors such as David Alden, Barrie Kosky, Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito, James Robinson, Sir Thomas Allen, Francesca Zambello, Paul Curran, and Seán Curran. She apprenticed as a Regiehospitantin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Oper Frankfurt; was a staff director at Houston Grand Opera and associate director at Washington National Opera; and has been a guest revival director at The Kennedy Center and Theatro Municipal de São Paulo.
Her research in opera and theater history has been published by Nineteenth-Century Music Review (Cambridge University Press), Grove Music (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), Feminist German Studies, Text and Performance Quarterly, and Journal of Religion and Theatre. She also created the popular podcast Disruptive Stages: conversations about the ideas that disrupt and transform the performing arts.
A Fulbright Scholar, Williams holds a Ph.D. in Theatre Theory and Criticism from Cornell University and an A.B. with honors in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. She was the Apprentice Stage Director at the San Francisco Opera Merola Opera Program and trained at SITI Company in the Viewpoints with Anne Bogart and in opera directing at CCM.
Jennifer Williams lives in Brooklyn and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and American Guild of Musical Artists.
January 2021
“The program was staged with particular ingenuity by apprentice stage director Jennifer Williams, who in addition to a number of imaginative individual strokes – staging one Berlioz solo, for instance, as an old-time radio broadcast – hit upon the nice idea of bleeding one scene into the next to give the evening extra fluidity.” – Joshua Kosman, The San Francisco Chronicle
“A revealing, complex depiction.” – Elizabeth Bloom, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A strong production … remarkable.” – Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“An imaginative staging … delivered with verve and strong dramatic sensibility, and persuasive acting.” – Elizabeth Bloom, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A winning new production.” – Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Director Jennifer Williams’ production smoothly segued between Xirgu’s dressing room, the performance of the play on stage, and flashbacks to Spain and Cuba. Against Alyiece Moretto’s unit set, Steven Covey’s projections of Picasso-like suggestions of suffering, the ravages of war and Xirgu and Lorca on and off stage were strikingly effective. Julia LaVault’s subtle lighting underscored moments of drama and joy. Patricia Hibbert’s costumes captured the theatrical ambience in varied tones and the war in bleak hues. In a striking climax to Williams’ pitch perfect staging, Nuria assumes the role of Pineda as Xirgu joins Lorca in death.” – Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review, Formerly, Miami Herald
“A mesmerizing performance … Not a moment was wasted in this production of Ainadamar. Director Jennifer Williams’ seamless transitions and fluid imagery beautifully paired with the sonic world of a musical composition combining electronic sounds and orchestra. Williams’ staging celebrated the fractal nature of the score, matching every angle with visceral meaning.” – Sarah Hutchings, The Musical Times
“Williams’ spare staging cut to the heart of the drama, keeping the emphasis on Eliza’s dilemma and the wives’ faith.” – Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review Formerly, Miami Herald
“An audacious production … Director Jennifer Williams has transferred Shakespeare’s romp in the woods to a post-apocalyptic landscape strewn with discarded remnants of the former civilization. Television monitors and Yee Eun Nam’s backdrop projection display the trees, flowers and global views that once were part of the milieu. In the tradition of Peter Brook’s famous Royal Shakespeare production of Shakespeare’s play, the singers playing mortals wear modern dress … Williams’ vision shapes the many characters’ personalities with a distinctive touch and a sure sense of theatricality.” – Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review, Formerly, Miami Herald
“Jennifer Williams’ consistently imaginative production made a virtue of the theater’s small stage with characters entering through openings in the set … Patricia Hibbert’s handsome and multihued costumes and Yuki Izumihara’s clever unit set were enhanced by Yee Eun Nam’s projections of Spalanzani’s machines, Hoffmann’s stolen image and Miracle’s sinister medical positions in the manner of a horror movie. The entire staging was imaginative, thoughtfully conceived and greatly entertaining.” – Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review, Formerly, Miami Herald
“Extraordinariamente hermosa, con un gran despliegue de creatividad … Pero sin duda, la clave para el éxito de esta producción tan bien estructurada fue la dirección escénica de Jennifer Williams. Sin duda una producción muy competitiva dentro su nivel de limitados recursos y que bien se mereció la larga ovación de pie.”
Extraordinarily beautiful, with a great display of creativity … Without a doubt, the key to success of this production was the stage direction of Jennifer Williams … Undoubtedly a very competitive production within its limited resources and well deserved its standing ovation. – Daniel Fernández, El Nuevo Herald
“The youthful cast of Miami Music Festival’s production brought enthusiasm and dramatic aplomb to director Jennifer Williams’ inventive staging … Williams’ imaginative production made an asset of the low-budget, bare bones sets … The Bohemians’ horseplay exuded a real sense of fun. Mimì’s death was given grandly tragic dimension on the darkened stage.” – Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review, Formerly, Miami Herald
“Billed as ‘a great introduction to new opera-goers,’ MMF’s staging of the accessible and emotionally driven drama is exactly that, having been given a modern twist … The energetic direction of director Jennifer Williams occasionally left me reminded of Baz Luhrmann and the 1996 film ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ in that they are both hugely successful adaptations of a timeless masterpiece … The cast, fresh-faced and youthful, was stupendous, creating a chemistry and cohesive atmosphere seen in those who have truly been friends for years, but is rarely seen onstage.” – Erin Dahlgren, Edge Media Network
“The joyful aspect was largely created by Director Jennifer Williams’ favoring of frolic and fun. We had a wide smile throughout and were hit by a wave of sadness at the tragic ending … The simple story has been decked out with some very amusing scenes, the best of which involves Cupid giving lessons on love to his students in a classroom setting. We don’t always enjoy the current trend for gilding Baroque operas with such fancies but in this case it worked extraordinarily well and we now consider ourself a fan of Ms. Williams.” – Meche Kroop, Voce di Meche
“All the parts that make up opera are unified on stage to create an enormously satisfying theatrical experience. Monodrama may mean one voice, and Backwards from Winter spoke as one.” – Susan Hall, Berkshire Fine Arts
“DC Public Opera is molding the way opera is experienced by taking every element of their production to the next level.” – Modern Singer Magazine
“The desire to liberate opera from their traditional settings can yield powerful and intriguing new productions from which we experience the music, story, and characters, perhaps even our world with refreshed clarity … Austin Opera’s presentation of the Richard Strauss classic Ariadne auf Naxos is the latest … Meticulously staged by Jennifer Williams.” – Robi Polnar, Austin Chronicle
COSÌ FAN TUTTE – DC PUBLIC OPERA
“An admirable and ambitious production. [Stage director Jennifer Williams] is finding fresh ways to deliver opera … which the audience clearly loved.” – Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene
“The stage action was ingeniously interwoven with the music to give the Passion contemporary resonance.” “[The production] gave the music a powerful new dimension. …The three-hour production flew by.” “Extremely powerful … Brilliant … Monumental.” – Mary Ellyn Hutton, Music in Cincinnati
“As bubbly as champagne … It will have folks talking for a long, long time.” – Jean Horne, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Incredibly talented … funny and whimsical show.” – Natalie Bencivenga,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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