Lydia Steier

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Lydia Steier first moved to Germany as a Fulbright Scholar following her vocal studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.

Steier’s work on The Lesson in Berlin’s HAU and on the multimedia production of Eight Songs for a Mad King, which was presented in Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Mexico, were the first two productions to bring her significant attention.

Following that, Steier directed productions of La clemenza di Tito, and Brundibar for Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Lohengrin at Los Angeles Opera, Madame Butterfly in Bremen, and The Merry Widow at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Her stagings were further invited to festivals in Hong Kong, Dublin and New York.

Based on her productions of Busoni’s Turnadot and Leonvallo’s Pagliacci, she was named by Deutschlandradio Kultur as their „New Discovery of the Year,“ and after its success in Potsdam, her staging of Jeptha was taken on by the Wiener Festwochen.

Steier’s staging of Donnerstag by Karl-Heinz Stockhausen was selected by Opernwelt magazine as the „Best Staging of the 15/16 Season,“ while her productions of Händel’s oratorio Saul at the Staatstheater Oldenburg and Pascal Dusapin’s Perela at the Staatstheater Mainz were nominated for the renowned FAUST-Theater Prize.

Steier’s most recent important works as a director include Giulio Cesare at the Komische Oper Berlin, Turandot at the Oper Köln, Les Troyens at the Semperoper Dresden, Die Zauberflöte at the Salzburger Festspiele, Oedipus Rex/Iolante at the Oper Frankfurt, the world premiere of Diodati. Unendlich (Michael Wertmüller and Dea Loher) at the Theater Basel, Pique Dame at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, La Juive, Alcina and Le Nozze di Figaro  at the Staatsoper Hannover, Carmen at the Oper Köln, Les Indes Galantes at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the creation of Dai Fujikura’s A Le Nozze di Figaro Dream of Armageddon at the New National Theatre Tokyo. In the last season she celebrated great successes with her new production of Salome at the Opéra National de Paris and Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Osterfestspiele in Baden Baden.

In the 2023/24 season, her interpretations of Don Carlos at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Aida at the Oper Frankfurt, Candide at the Theater an der Wien, and La Vestale at the Opéra National de Paris could be experienced.

In 2025, Lydia Steier will make her directorial debut at the Wiener Staatsoper with Tannhäuser and will continue her long-standing collaboration with the Staatsoper Hannover with the world premiere of Israel in Munich.

2024/25

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