Brian Dickie, General Director

Brian Dickie began his distinguished opera career in 1962. He was Artistic Director of the Wexford Festival from 1967 to 1973 and simultaneously the first Administrator of Glyndebourne Touring Opera where for many years a high proportion of the leading British singers began their careers. In 1981 he became General Administrator of Glyndebourne Festival Opera where he worked with many distinguished Directors and Conductors including Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Peter Sellars, Bernard Haitink, Simon Rattle, and Andrew Davis.

Brian held the post of General Director of the Canadian Opera Company from 1989 to 1993 and from 1994 to 1997 was Artistic Adviser to the Opéra de Nice and Adviser to the International Youth Foundation during the formation of the European Union Opera.

Since joining Chicago Opera Theater in 1999, the company’s growing reputation has brought it great applause, most notably after its 2002 performances of Orfeoin the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Monteverdi cycle.

After the extraordinary success of his first season with the company he was honored by the Chicago Tribune as a Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts for 2000. This award was repeated in 2002. In addition to serving as General Director of COT he has been Chairman of the International Jury for Preselections for the Bertelsmann Foundation's biennial Neue Stimmen Competition since 1999. In this capacity in 2007 he will audition more than 800 singers in Europe, the US, Canada, South and Central America, Australia, and South Africa. Mr. Dickie sits on the board of Opera America and the Chicago College of Performing Arts.