ANNA THEODOSAKIS
DIRECTOR
CHOREOGRAPHER
BIOGRAPHY
Photo: Dahlia Katz
Stage director and choreographer Anna Theodosakis is a rising figure on the operatic scene, with critically acclaimed productions featuring “crisp and dynamic treatment” [Opera Ramblings] and “clean and uncluttered direction” [Opera Canada]. Anna’s 23/24 season includes Carmen at Edmonton Opera, Così fan tutte at the University of British Columbia, a return to the Canadian Opera Company as assistant director for their Cunning Little Vixen, as well as to Opera Theatre of St. Louis for La bohème. Anna has been chosen as the Merola Opera Program stage director which will find her in San Francisco this summer directing
The Grand Finale and assistant directing Don Giovanni.
Her 22/23 season is highlighted by her productions of Dove’s Flight (Glenn Gould School) and Verdi’s La traviata (Brott Opera), assisting on productions of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Opera Theatre of St. Louis) and Le nozze di Figaro (Canadian Opera Company), and serving as associate director on Against the Grain’s production of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle.
Since 2017, Anna has appeared as a frequent collaborator with the Canadian Opera Company, earning a nomination for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction for her work as revival director on The Magic Flute (2022). Other directing credits include COC’s Opera for Young Audiences (WOW Factor: A Cinderella Story), as well as their Ensemble Studio’s performance of La bohème and Mainstage Showcase (2018). A COC Ensemble Studio faculty member and dramatic coach, she has staged several RBA Concert Series performances, including the premiere of Ana Sokolović’s dawn always begins in the bones, a co-production between the Canadian Art Song Project and the 21C Festival.
Anna has directed across Canada at the Saskatoon Opera (Carmen), Brott Opera (Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, La traviata), The Banff Centre (A Room with a View), Toronto Summer Music Festival (Rape of Lucretia), Parks Canada (The Bells of Baddeck), Musique 3 Femmes (Love Songs), Manitoba Underground Opera (Die Zauberflöte),
Muskoka Opera Festival (La bohème, Eugene Onegin), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Haus Musik), and MYOpera (Rape of Lucretia, L’italiana in Algeri). She has also assisted on productions with The Banff Centre (Rape of Lucretia), Tapestry Opera (Briefs - Winter Shorts), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem). Upcoming directing engagments include Don Giovanni with Calgary Opera and La bohème with Manitoba Opera.
Theodosakis has also flexed her choreography skills on repertoire ranging from Mozart, to operetta, to musical theatre. Choreography credits include Massenet’s Cendrillon, Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing, Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Weill’s Street Scene. Anna has frequently combined these skill sets, jointly choreographing and directing many of the above credits.
Passionate about working with emerging artists, Anna currently teaches acting and dance for the University of Toronto's Opera Division. She served as a sessional lecturer in Theatre Techniques and Staging & Directing for the University of British Columbia. She has also been an invited guest stage director and lecturer of acting, movement, and digital techniques with McGill University (The Limit of the Sun, Il guidizione di Pigmalione), the Glenn Gould School (Flight, Hin und Zurück/Les larmes du couteau), Dalhousie University (Die Fledermaus), Wilfrid Laurier University (Les contes d’Hoffmann, The Tender Land), the University of Ottawa (Love Songs, Die schöne Müllerin), the University of Manitoba (dawn always begins in the bones), and the University of Lethbridge.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of British Columbia, as well as an Artistic Diploma in Operatic Stage Performance from the University of Toronto. During her tenure at U of T, Anna was the first student in the program’s history to direct a main stage opera production
(The Medium).