Río De Sangre

William Florescu (General Director, Florentine Opera Company)

William Florescu became the General Director of Milwaukee's Florentine Opera Company in May of 2005.  Prior to coming to the Florentine, he was the General Director of Lake George Opera in Saratoga Springs, New York from 1999 until his appointment to the Wisconsin company. Previously, he had been General Director of the Columbus Light Opera. While in Ohio, he was also Associate Dean and Director of Opera/Musical Theatre at the Capital University Conservatory of Music. Operas and musicals he directed while there include La Perichole, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Fantasticks, The Tender Land, The Mikado, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, andTheGondoliers, among others.

During his six seasons at Lake George, he produced a number of operas,including Madama Butterfly, Il Matrimonio Segreto, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Daughter of the Regiment, La Cenerentola, Susannah, The Elixir of Love, and Candide. In July of 2001, he directed a critically lauded, sold-out run of H.M.S.Pinaforefor the Company.  In addition to directing for Lake George, he has directed productions for Augusta Opera and Hawaii Opera Theatre, where he returned to direct Samson and Delilah last January.  In April, he made his directing debut with his own company with The Barber of Seville.

In addition to his positions in Columbus and Lake George, he also served a season as Assistant Artistic Director for Iowa's Dorian Opera Theatre, directing The Elixir of Love.

On the operatic stage, he has appeared in leading and supporting roles with Opera/Columbus, Columbus Light Opera, Iowa's Dorian Opera, Toledo Opera, National Opera Company, and the Whitewater Opera among others.

On the concert stage, he has sung with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, the Indianapolis Summer Pops and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

He has recently presented masterclasses for Westminster Choir College.Peabody Institute, Capital University, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and LakeGeorge Opera, and judged competitions for The Eastman School of Music, TheMontreal International Czech and Slovak Voice Competition, and Fort Worth Opera's McCammon Vocal Competition. Mr. Florescu has served on the Opera Review Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and serves as on site reporter for the Endowment on an ongoing basis.

For the 2007-2008 season, Mr. Florescu will debut with the Nashville Opera, directing H.M.S. Pinafore, judge the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska, return to judge the Fort Worth Opera's McCammon Vocal Competition, and judge Opera Birmingham's vocal competition.

Mr. Florescu received his training at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Trinity College of Music in London, England, Miami University and the Ohio State University.