Leadership

Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director

Tomer Zvulun

General and 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, Los Angeles, Montreal, Wexford, Glimmerglass, Houston, Washington National Opera, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, San Diego, Minnesota, Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Wolf Trap, as well as leading educational institutes and universities such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv.   

Since taking the leadership in Atlanta a decade ago, he personally directed thirty of the company’s productions. He increased the operations of the company from three to six productions per season, while stabilizing the financials and in the course of his first decade tenure, secured Atlanta’s position as one of the top 10 opera companies in the US. Some of his noted achievements includes launching the successful Discoveries series, creating the first young artist program in the company’s history, tripling the company’s annual fund raising, launching the company’s first RING cycle, creating The Atlanta Opera Film Studio, and building a theatre in a circus tent where performances were conducted safely during the pandemic. 

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His work at The Atlanta Opera attracted international attention by earning numerous awards and prizes including the nomination of The Atlanta Opera for the International Opera Awards in London and the selection of his production of Silent Night as both the Irish Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution 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. His productions travel the world and bring wide exposure to the company. Next season his productions of  Rigoletto travel to Los Angeles Opera, his La bohème returns to The Dallas Opera, and his acclaimed production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs will make its Kennedy Center debut at the Washington National Opera.  

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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.

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Board of Directors

Officers

Chair, Mr. Rhys T. Wilson
Partner, Attorney, and Co-Chair Mergers & Acquisitions // Nelson Mullins

Immediate Past Chair, Mrs. Cathy Callaway Adams
Retired // Federal Home Loan Bank

Vice Chair, Mr. John L. Hammaker
Retired // Attorney

Vice Chair, Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr.
Retired // Zurich Insurance Company, Ltd

Treasurer, Ms. Bunny Winter
Retired // Coca-Cola Enterprises

Secretary, Mr. John Haupert
CEO // Grady Hospital

Members

Mrs. Elizabeth Adler
Partner // King & Spalding

Mrs. Susan M. Anderson
Founder // The ArtReach Foundation

Mr. Bryan H. Barnes
Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions // Deloitte

Mr. Dante Bellizzi
Director Franchise Leadership // Coca-Cola Company

Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV
Managing Director // The 680 Group

Dr. Harold Brody
MD // Atlanta Dermatology

Mrs. Rosemary Kopel Brown
Community Volunteer

Mr. Frank Butterfield
Principal // Homrich Berg

Dr. Frank A. Critz
Retired // MD

Mr. Robert Dean
President & CEO // Nominpensas, LLC

Dr. Carlos del Rio
Executive Associate Dean for Grady Affairs; Distinguished Professor of Medicine // Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Todd Ellis
Principal & Mid South Hub Advisory Market Leader // KPMG

Dr. Dieter Elsner
Partner // Rödl & Partner

Dr. Donald J. Filip
Retired // MD

Mr. Kevin Greiner
President & CEO // Gas South

Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross
Business & Corporate Affairs Officer // Georgia Dermatology Center

Mr. Jamael Hester
Global Ventures GM — Energy // Coca-Cola Company

Mr. Howard W. Hunter
Owner // Digital Agent LLC

Mr. Andrew Long
Executive Officer // A.R. Long Company

Mr. Alfredo Martin
Executive Director // The Columbia Foundation

Mr. James B. Miller
Board Chair // Ameris Bank

Mrs. Stephanie Morela
Partner // PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli
Senior VP & Regional Director // Capital Group

Mrs. Talia Murphy
Community Volunteer

Mr. Howard Palefsky
Board Chair // Victoria Capital Management

Mr. Michael E. Paulhus
Partner // King & Spalding

Mr. Herbert J. Rosenberg
Retired // Republic National Distributing

Mr. Thomas Saylor
Senior Advisor // Georgia Research Alliance

Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr.
Attorney

Mrs. Christine St.Clare
Founder & President // St.Clare Advisors, LLC

Mr. William E. Tucker
Co-Founding Partner // Tucker Midis & Associates, LLC

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. Robert G. Woodward

Advisory Council

Mr. Andrew J.M. Binns
Mr. Kenny L. Blank
Mrs. Inge Bledel
Ms. Mary Calhoun
Ms. Sally Bland Fielding

Ms. Julia Filson
Mr. Roger Fleming
Mr. Lance Fortnow
Mrs. Beth W. Glynn
Dr. Thomas N. Guffin, Jr.

Mr. Douglas Hooker
Mrs. Erin Quinn Martin
Mr. Robert G. Pennington
Mr. Paul Snyder