Elkhanah Pulitzer in Conversation
Elkhanah Pulitzer, director
Elkhanah Pulitzer is a highly esteemed theater and opera director known for her bold, nuanced stage direction that explores the intersection of music and theater through innovation and hybridized forms, creating compelling and visually stunning productions. Pulitzer is driven by her desire to captivate audiences in the theatrical space and to attentively integrate each collaborator’s artistic vision. In past seasons, Pulitzer has directed projects at the LA Philharmonic, including Adams and Goodman's Nixon in China and Bernstein’s Mass, the latter of which was also staged at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. She has also directed Adams and Sellars’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary at the San Francisco Symphony and Lucia di Lammermoor and Judas Maccabaeus at LA Opera.
Committed to pushing the boundaries of opera, Pulitzer’s recent works include a production of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra with San Francisco Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Metropolitan Opera; Alisa Weilerstein’s Fragments; and David Lang’s prisoner of the state, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and toured with European orchestras. Pulitzer has collaborated with Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Canadian Opera Company. She has received OPERA America’s Success Award for her libretto for Dream of the Pacific, composed by Stephen Mager. Born in Boston and raised in St. Louis and Marin, she serves as the board vice president of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, which advances experimentation in art curation, installation, and live programming.
Marc A. Scorca, OPERA America President/CEO
Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Since that time, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to 3,500 organizations and individuals. Under his leadership, OPERA America has administered two landmark funding initiatives in support of the development of North American operas and opera audiences and launched an endowment effort in 2000 to create a permanent fund dedicated to supporting new works and audience development activities. In 2005, Scorca spearheaded OPERA America’s relocation from Washington, D.C. to New York City and the subsequent construction of the National Opera Center, which opened in 2012 and serves 80,000 guests each year. The Opera Center’s recital hall was dedicated as Marc A. Scorca Hall in 2015 in honor of Scorca’s 25th anniversary with the organization.
Scorca has led strategic planning retreats for opera companies and other cultural institutions internationally, and has participated on panels for federal, state, and local funding agencies, as well as for numerous private organizations. He also appears frequently in the media on a variety of cultural issues. A strong advocate of collaboration, Scorca has led several cross-disciplinary projects, including the Performing Arts Research Coalition and the National Performing Arts Convention (2004 and 2008). He is currently a member of the U.S. delegation to UNESCO. Scorca serves as an officer on the boards of the Performing Arts Alliance and the Curtis Institute of Music, and is on the Music Advisory Board of Hunter College (CUNY). Scorca attended Amherst College, where he graduated with high honors in both history and music.