Renowned opera and theater director Francesca Zambello has found her name in headlines often as of late.

Image from: http://www.glimmerglass.org/

After directing an acclaimed production of Wagners Ring Cycle in San Francisco (where she is an artistic adviser), and being named artistic adviser for the Washington National Opera, Zambello took her other new role as the artistic and general director of the Glimmerglass Festival head-on.

In her first year of programming, Zambello has included a classical musical (done with big voices, a full orchestra, and no amplification), included three strong women leads (Carmen, Medea and Annie Oakley), and commissioned a new opera from award winning composer Jeanine Tesori with libretto by Tony Kushner titled A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck.

You can read an interview with Zambello and The Globe and Mail here. There’s also an article in the Wall Street Journal.