Leadership
Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director
Tomer Zvulun
General & Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, Israeli born Tomer Zvulun is also one of opera’s most exciting stage directors, earning consistent praise for his creative vision, often described as cinematic and fresh. His work has been presented by prestigious opera houses around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Israel, Buenos Aires, Wexford, Glimmerglass, Houston, Washington National Opera, Seattle, Detroit, San Diego, Minnesota, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Wolf Trap, as well as leading educational institutes and universities such as The Julliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv.
Since becoming General and Artistic Director in Atlanta a decade ago, he has increased the operations of the company from three to six productions per season, while stabilizing the financials. Some of his noted achievements include launching the successful Discoveries series, creating the first young artist program in the company’s history, tripling the company’s annual fundraising, creating a film studio, and building a theatre in a circus tent where performances were conducted safely during the pandemic.
His work at The Atlanta Opera attracted international attention by earning numerous awards and prizes including nomination of The Atlanta Opera for the International Opera Awards in London and the selection of his production Silent Night as both the Irish Times and the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s production of the year. His focus on innovation led to an invitation to deliver a TED Talk as well as a case study that is being taught at Harvard Business School. Zvulun’s upcoming productions include Rigoletto (Dallas), Madama Butterfly (Atlanta), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Salt Lake City, Calgary) and Die Walküre (Dallas and Atlanta).
Carl & Sally Gable Music Director
Arthur Fagen
Arthur Fagen has been the Carl and Sally Gable music director at The Atlanta Opera since 2010, and continues to be in great demand as a conductor of symphony and opera both in Europe and the United States. He is a regular guest at the most prestigious opera houses, concert halls, and music festivals at home and abroad, and his career has been marked by a string of notable appearances including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Staatsoper Berlin, Munich State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and New York City Opera.
From 1998 to 2001, Fagen was invited regularly to be guest conductor at Vienna State Opera. On the concert podium, Fagen has appeared with internationally renowned orchestras, including Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, and RAI Orchestras of Turin, Naples, Milan, and Rome. From 2002 to 2007, he was the music director of Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera. He serves as Chair and Professor, Department of Orchestral Conducting at Indiana University in Bloomington.
A former assistant of Christoph von Dohnanyi (Frankfurt Opera) and James Levine (Metropolitan Opera), he served as principal conductor in Kassel and Brunswick, as chief conductor of Flanders Opera of Antwerp and Ghent, as music director of Queens Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the conducting staff for Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Fagen was born in New York and studied with Laszlo Halasz, Max Rudolf (Curtis Institute) and Hans Swarowsky. Fagen has an opera repertoire of more than 75 works and has recorded for Naxos and BMG. His Naxos recording of Bohuslav Martinůs works was awarded Editor’s Choice in the March 2010 issue of Gramophone Magazine.
Board of Directors
Officers
Chair, Mr. Rhys T. Wilson
Immediate Past Chair, Mrs. Cathy Callaway Adams
Vice Chair, Mr. John L. Hammaker
Treasurer, Ms. Bunny Winter
Secretary, Mr. John Haupert
Members
Mrs. Elizabeth Adler
Mrs. Susan M. Anderson
Mr. Bryan H. Barnes
Mr. Dante Bellizzi
Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV
Dr. Harold Brody
Mrs. Rosemary Kopel Brown
Mr. Frank Butterfield
Mr. Mario Concha
Dr. Frank A. Critz
Mr. Robert Dean
Dr. Carlos del Rio
Dr. Todd Ellis
Dr. Dieter Elsner
Dr. Donald J. Filip
Mr. Kevin Greiner
Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross
Mr. John Haupert
Mr. Jamael Hester
Mr. Howard W. Hunter
Mr. Andrew Long
Mr. Alfredo Martin
Mr. James B. Miller
Mrs. Stephanie Morela
Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli
Mrs. Talia Murphy
Mr. Howard Palefsky
Mr. Michael E. Paulhus
Mr. Herbert J. Rosenberg
Mr. Thomas Saylor
Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr.
Mrs. Christine St.Clare
Mr. William E. Tucker
Honorary Members
Mr. Ron Antinori
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Mr. Robert G. Edge
Mr. Carl I. Gable, Jr.
Mrs. Nancy Hall Green
Mr. Gregory F. Johnson
Mr. Carter Joseph
Mr. Alfred Kennedy, Jr.
Mr. Michael Keough
Mrs. Emily Knobloch
Mr. George Levert
Mr. J. Barry Schrenk
Mr. Timothy E. Sheehan
Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr.
Mr. Mark K. Taylor
Mr. Thomas R. Williams
Mr. Charles “Charlie” R. Yates
Mr. Robert G. Woodward
Advisory Council
Mr. Andrew Binns
Mr. Kenny Blank
Mrs. Inge Bledel
Ms. Mary Calhoun
Mrs. Sally Fielding
Mrs. Beth Glynn
Mr. Thomas Guffin
Mr. Douglas Hooker
Ms. Erin Martin
Mr. Paul Snyder