Keith Warner

Keith Warner (born 6 December 1956) is a British opera director, designer and translator. He is noted for his flamboyant stagings of Richard Wagner's operas.

Early years

Warner was born in London and went to Woodhouse School in Finchley, North London and then studied English and drama at the University of Bristol from 1975-78. He subsequently worked as an actor, a teacher of drama therapy and a fringe theatre director. He joined English National Opera in 1981, working as revival director, staff director and associate director until 1989. In 1985, he also worked as associate director for Scottish Opera.

Career

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Warner combined the roles of director of productions for New Sussex Opera, artistic director for Nexus Opera and associate artistic director of Opera Omaha.

In 2005, Warner staged Wagner's Tannhäuser at the Stadttheater Minden, with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by Frank Beermann.

Warner was appointed artistic director of the Royal Danish Opera, taking up the post in July 2011, but resigned after six months, along with conductor and music director Jakub Hrůša, as a result of problems with funding.

In the 2014/15 Season he directed Welsh National Opera's production of Peter Pan at the Royal Opera House and on tour.

Warner is also a writer, supplying the book and lyrics for "Scoring A Century", a madcap operetta, which began a long series of works with composer, David Blake. Originally commissioned by Portland Opera, it received its world premiere at The Crescent Theatre Birmingham, where Anna Picard in The Sunday Independent, March 14, 2010, heralded it: "Directed by Warner and conducted by Lionel Friend, Birmingham Conservatoire's exuberant production revealed a work that is as much a history of music as it is a history of politics, as Blake's sentimental waltzes and sassy cabaret songs cede to a series of mini-operas in the styles of Berg and Stravinsky and a Shosta- kovichian show trial. This is a terrific choice for an institution that prides itself on producing voices for music theatre and opera, and a work that should be seen at the Young Vic or the Donmar." Nine years later, a revival in London divided critics more, some of whom called it 'pretentious', embarrassing, and 'unwieldy, overlong and stylistically diffuse'., whereas others continued to welcome it. Barry Millington in The (Evening) Standard welcomed it and summed it up, "British Youth Opera provides a platform for new entrants to the profession, offering mentored experience to fledgling singers, directors, designers, hair and make-up — the lot. Scoring a Century — music by David Blake, text by Keith Warner — is an ideal vehicle for young professionals to train under Warner himself as director, with Lionel Friend as conductor. It all provides opportunities for homages, verbal or musical, to Chekhov, Weill, Eisler, Pinter and Sondheim, plus a text crammed with one-liners. It’s a terrific company achievement… With recherché cracks about a “controversial production” of Wagner’s Meistersinger featuring Nazis, not to mention critics and prostate cancer, nothing, it seems, is too below the belt. The Jedermanns truly offer something for everybody." Also, in by far the fullest appraisal, Claire Seymour, also welcomed it in Opera Today (Sept 2019), "Scoring a Century, British Youth Opera at the Peacock Theatre".

Other Operas followed: an operetta-like version of Bergmann's "Fanny and Alexander", "Icarus", performed at the 2016 Montepulciano Festival in Italy (41st Cantiere di Montepulciano) about which Roberto del Nista wrote, "All credit to Warner and Blake for putting on stage stories that are normally the preserve of television and the Internet" - Opera Magazine Nov 2016. Pg 1416. "Four Modern Myths", and most recently, "Something About Love" (2024). Four Modern Myths comprises four 30 minute monodramas: Medea's Cell - for soprano; Persephone's Rounds - for mezzo; Narcissus Reflects - for tenor; and the twin trials of Hercules - for bass-baritone. It also contains an epilogue for all four singers.

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