Widely acclaimed for his inspirational leadership and musical integrity, Steven White is one of North America’s premiere opera conductors. In 2010 he made his highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut conducting two performances of Verdi’s La traviata, starring Angela Gheorghiu, Thomas Hampson and James Valenti. These performances came in the midst of Mr. White’s ongoing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera where, since 2009, he has served as cover conductor for La sonnambula, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez, La fille du régiment, La traviata, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert.
Mr. White returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the 2010-2011 season to participate in productions of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, starring Placido Domingo and Susan Graham, and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. That same season Mr. White will also conduct Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in concert with the Naples Philharmonic.
Additional highlights of the 2008 through 2010 seasons include performances with L’Opéra de Montréal (Lucia di Lammermoor), Kentucky Opera (Hänsel und Gretel), Nashville Opera (Tosca), Opera Roanoke (Falstaff, Otello, Lucia di Lammermoor, Das Lied von der Erde and an all-Wagner program) and the Naples Philharmonic (Carmen and Rigoletto).
In the 2007-2008 season Mr. White presided over performances of Roméo et Juliette with Baltimore Opera, L’elisir d’amore with Pittsburgh Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Fort Worth Opera, Fidelio and Hansel and Gretel with Opera Roanoke, and La bohème and Tosca with the Naples Philharmonic.
In November 2006 he was widely praised for his conducting of Rolando Villazon and the Greek National Radio Symphony Orchestra in internationally televised concerts from the United Nations and Alice Tully Hall. Also garnering worldwide attention and critical esteem were his performances of L’assedio di Corinto with Baltimore Opera in October 2006. Other highlights of the 2006-2007 season included appearances with Vancouver Opera (I puritani), Michigan Opera Theater (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Spoleto Festival USA (Festival Finale Concert), Syracuse Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor), the Naples Philharmonic (Le nozze di Figaro) and Opera Roanoke (La bohème and Macbeth).
Steven White is Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke. He has conducted nearly all of that company’s productions since 1999 (Fidelio, Falstaff, Otello, Macbeth, Aida, Rigoletto, La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Le nozze di Figaro, Hänsel und Gretel and Acis and Galatea.) Before his appointment in Roanoke he served for two seasons as Principal Conductor for Opera Birmingham (Madama Butterfly, Le nozze di Figaro, and gala concerts with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.) From 1993 to 1997 he was Chorus Master and Associate Conductor of Florida Grand Opera.
Mr. White has conducted at New York City Opera (Don Giovanni, Carmen, La bohème), Baltimore Opera (L’assedio di Corinto, I puritani, La sonnambula , Roméo et Juliette) Opera Colorado (La traviata), Arizona Opera (The Merry Widow, Tosca, Don Pasquale), Vancouver Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor, La fille du régiment, I puritani), Sarasota Opera (Werther), Syracuse Opera (Don Giovanni, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Macbeth, Lucia di Lammermoor), New Orleans Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor), Wichita Grand Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor), Nashville Opera (Pagliacci), Opera North Carolina (Madama Butterfly), Wolf Trap Opera (L’elisir d’amore), Madison Opera (outdoor Gala Concerts) and Indiana University Opera Theater (La traviata).
Mr. White has conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra for a CHANDOS recording of arias featuring soprano Elizabeth Futral. He has also conducted the New World Symphony Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, the Syracuse Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic and many other orchestras.
