Bruno Ravella is an internationally acclaimed opera director whose work begins with characters. Believing that every great opera speaks to universal human experience, he creates productions in which music, drama and visual storytelling combine to reveal the emotional truth at the heart of each work.

Born in Casablanca to Italian and Polish parents and educated in France, Bruno has built an international career working across Europe, North America and New Zealand. He enjoys longstanding relationships with a number of leading opera companies including Garsington Opera, Opera de Lausanne, Irish National Opera and Opera national du Rhin, while his productions have been seen at Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, New Zealand Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Houston Grand Opera, Opera national de Lorraine.

Bruno is particularly drawn to works that place human relationships and psychological complexity at their centre. This has led to an extensive engagement with the operas of Richard Strauss, including Intermezzo, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos and Salome. His work also reflects a deep affinity with the French repertoire, notably Massenet’s Werther and Don Quichotte, and Gounod’s Mireille, while his growing Verdi repertoire spans Rigoletto, Macbeth, La Traviata, Falstaff and Stiffelio. Alongside those cornerstones, Bruno has developed a reputation for revealing the theatrical power of neglected works, including Porpora’s Polifemo and Donizetti’s Zoraida di Granata.

His productions have received both critical and public acclaim. Werther at Opera national de Lorraine was awarded the prestigious Prix de la critique Claude Rostand for best Opera Production outside Paris, before being revived in Quebec City, Montpellier and Marseille. His production of Stiffelio, the first staging of the opera in France, received the Forum Opéra ‘Renaissance’ award.

Next season: Mireille (Gounod) at Opera de Lausanne, Salome at Seattle Opera, Der Rosenkavalier at Houston Grand Opera, La traviata at Opera Theatre of St Louis and Falstaff at Garsington Opera.