91˿Ƶ

Patrick Hansen

Academic title(s): 

Associate Professor, Director of Opera Studies, Area Co-Coordinator (Voice)

Patrick Hansen
Department: 
Music Performance
Area(s): 
Ensembles & Conducting
Voice
Contact Information
Phone: 
514-398-4535
Email address: 
patrick.j.hansen [at] mcgill.ca
Group: 
Area Coordinator
Faculty
Office: 
C402
Salutation: 
Prof
Degree(s): 

MMus (Piano Performance), University of Missouri at Kansas City, USA, 1991

BMus (Piano Performance), Simpson College, USA, 1988

Fellowship in Opera Coaching, The Juilliard School, 1991 - 1993

Areas of expertise: 

Artistic Director, Opera 91˿Ƶ

Conductor, Stage Director, Vocal Coach, Artistic Administrator, Librettist, Blogger

Artistic Director, TriCities Opera

Areas of interest: 

Conducting, Stage Directing, Vocal Coaching, Artistic Administration, Producing

Current research: 

National Opera Association, Board of Directors

Membership Committee, Opera America

former Board of Directors, Association of Opera in Canada (AOC)

Librettist: "Much Ado" & "Clara, Robert, and Johannes"

Biography: 

Patrick Hansen is the Artistic Director of Opera 91˿Ƶ, an associate professor of music at the Schulich School of Music, and the Artistic Director of TriCities Opera in Binghamton, NY. He is currently on the board of directors for the National Opera Association, has been on the board of directors for The Association for Opera in Canada, and is currently serving on the membership council for Opera America, and .

Considered a leading progressive figure in opera, he is an opera producer equally established as a stage director, conductor, vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and artistic administrator having spent the last forty years on the creative and producing teams for over 300 operas.

His productions have been seen all over North America and in Europe. Recently he directed and choreographed the Bulgarian premiere of Weill’s Street Scene. He has directed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Pittsburgh Opera, Eugene Opera, TriCities Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Fargo Opera, Opera5, Opera Memphis, Arizona State University, Janiec Opera Company, Opéra de Montreal’s Atelier Lyrique, Opera on the James, Ithaca College, and over 100 operas at Opera 91˿Ƶ. As the former Music Director for the Opera Festival of New Jersey, he conducted Die Zauberflöte, Il prigioniero, Bluebeard’s Castle, and the world premiere of the revised version of Burning Bright. Other conducting credits include La Traviata, Carmen, Cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia, The Tender Land, The Turn of the Screw, Albert Herring, Cosi fan tutte, L’elisir d’amore, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Hänsel und Gretel, and Alcina.

For his conducting of Bartok’s operatic masterpiece Bluebeard’s Castle, New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini praised his “lithe pacing and vivid colors” while Pulitzer prize-winning Financial Times critic Martin Bernheimer wrote “Hansen respected the delicate balance between passion and introspection. He made much of Bartok’s epic essay in psycho-sexual angst.” David Patrick Stearns in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted “Hansen revealed another side of the score: stroke after stroke of musical characterization that’s often obscured by dazzling orchestral color, skillfully drawing the ear into the two characters’ hearts of darkness.” His stagings have garnered praise in both Canada and the United States. Wayne Gooding in Opera Canada: “Director Patrick Hansen...nonetheless captured the opera’s bohemian vitality and evoked – which, unfortunately, many productions fail to do – the city of Paris itself as the characterful backdrop to the action. When he ran out of space for the crowd in Act II, the crowd simply spilled down into the auditorium... the comic business was well handled... The acting, indeed, was a strong point throughout.” and Arthur Kaptainis in The Gazette: “After the Opera 91˿Ƶ performance on Friday I wanted to see it again...The eight singers were nicely cast...Director Patrick Hansen made a fair case for the drama. The violation [of Lucretia] involved some Etrusco-Roman wrestling and an almost literally blinding coup de theater: Lights flare and Tarquinius suddenly drops his robe, and becomes pure animal. It was a good invention.”

Mr. Hansen has been on the musical staffs of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Pittsburgh Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Memphis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, The Juilliard Opera Center, and Glimmerglass Opera (as director for their Young Artist Program) as well as being the Director of Artistic Administration for Florida Grand Opera during the opening of the 500 million dollar downtown Miami arts centre. Recently he has directed The Barber of Seville, It's a Grand Night for Singing, Rigoletto, Gianni Schicchi, and La Traviata at TriCities Opera and will return to direct four productions in the 26-27 season: Hansel and Gretel, Cosi fan tutte, Red White and Blue Christmas, and La Boheme. For Eugene Opera he has recently directed Acis & Galatea and Hansel & Gretel, and this summer will return for a fifth time as vocal coach and stage director return for the Bel Canto in Tuscany summer program.

Opera 91˿Ƶ is now the busiest opera program in North America. Each season, Opera 91˿Ƶ produces between 6 and 10 shows. Since 2020, Opera 91˿Ƶ has produced over 50 shows and/or workshops of new pieces. His recent Opera 91˿Ƶ productions have included Trouble in Tahiti, The Impresario, Imeneo, Alcina, The Rape of Lucretia, The Light in the Piazza, and this season will include the Canadian academic premiere of Fellow Travelers plus Cosi fan tutte and a staged version of Considering Matthew Shepard.

An avid blogger, his website “patricksoperablog” has received over 450,000 views. His new blog "CoachCraft" can be found on the ghost platform. He lives and gardens with his family and pets in eastern Ontario while practicing his hobbies of cooking a variety of cuisines.

Interviews: 

Awards, honours, and fellowships: 

Two-time recipient of the Schulich School of Music's "Excellence in Teaching" award 

91˿Ƶ Award for excellence in Equity programming

Courses: 

Opera 91˿Ƶ (MUEN496 & MUEN 696)

Opera 91˿Ƶ Excerpts (MUEN 454 & MUEN 654)

Graduate Seminar: Bel Canto Opera - a focus on the operas of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti

Graduate Seminar: Shakespeare and Opera

Private Vocal Coach Instructor for Masters and Doctoral students (by request)

Artistic performances: 

Upcoming: Stage director for Fellow Travelers, Cosi fan tutte, Considering Matthew Shepard (Opera 91˿Ƶ)

Hansel and Gretel, Red White and Blue Christmas, Cosi fan tutte, La Boheme (TriCities Opera)

Considering Matthew Shepard (Toronto's Mendellsohn Choir)

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