Stage Director David Radamés Toro

Latino American director David Radamés Toro applies his backgrounds in music and mime to create innovative opera productions with a focus on cultural relevance, diverse representation, and a modern opera experience to engage with new and returning audiences. 

Whether through abstraction or realism, from baroque to the modern era, his productions have been recognized for their sincerity and imagination. In response to his recent production of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the Star Tribune lauded it as “one of the most exciting and deeply involving productions that Minnesota Opera has presented this Century.” His production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight was praised as showing, “that Flight has a beating heart, and something to say.” The San Diego Tribune called his adaption of Cavalli’s La Calisto “a well-sung and cleverly staged production.” And his Le nozze di Figaro at Tri-Cities Opera was hailed as “Fresh and delightful…I learned something new about Nozze watching that show.”

Recent and upcoming productions for Mr. Toro include Verdi’s Macbeth with Washington National Opera (Assistant Director), “Opera Outdoors” at Opera Omaha, Armienta’s Zorro with Opera San José, Verdi’s Falstaff with Portland Opera, Armienta’s Zorro with Arizona Opera, Puccini’s Tosca with The Florentine Opera, and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Central City Opera.

An admirer of modern era opera, David has had the privilege of directing 21st century works such as Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (Minnesota Opera), Dead Man Walking (Opera Idaho), Three Way (Fargo Moorhead Opera), Glory Denied (Opera Fayetteville) and Flight (Minnesota Opera), as well as, assisting on the World Premieres of Today It Rains (Opera Parallèle, 2019), Dinner at Eight (Minnesota Opera), and The Shining (Minnesota Opera).  In addition to directing new works, David aspires to contribute to the American canon through collaborations with designers, composers, and playwrights in creating operas focused on Latino and Latino American experience, history, folklore, and communities.

Along with directing, Mr. Toro teaches classes and workshops in acting for the opera stage and physical theatre and also coaches singers in interpretation and audition preparation. His workshops in Gestural Mechanics are influenced by his own training in Meisner technique, Suzuki/Viewpoints, and classical mime with the goal of empowering singers to effectively combine musical expression and movement. He has taught movement and acting to singers at Minnesota Opera, Opera Neo, Tri-Cities Opera, The University of Texas – Austin, Arizona State University, and Opera Steamboat.

David Radamés Toro holds degrees from The University of Texas (DMA), The Ohio State University (MM/MA), and The University of Colorado at Boulder (BM).