Mary's production of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
is on the cover of Opera Magazine
is on the cover of Opera Magazine
Mary Birnbaum is a New York based director of opera and music theater. In 2024, she directed critically acclaimed productions of Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Guys and Dolls (Opera Saratoga), and ÉMIGRÉ (World Premiere, New York Philharmonic). Other credits include new productions of La bohème (Santa Fe Opera), Dido and Aeneas (Juilliard, Opera Holland Park, Opéra de Versailles), L’Orfeo (Juilliard, NYTimes “Best of Classical Music 2021”), Otello (National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan), L’elisir d’amore (National Theater of Costa Rica) and many more.
In demand for her skills as a collaborator on new work, Birnbaum has directed world premieres by contemporary artists including Jeremy Denk and Steven Stucky (The Classical Style at Ojai and Carnegie Hall), Frank London and Elise Thoron (Hatuey at Montclair Peak Performances), Mark Campbell and Kristin Kuster (Kept at Virginia Arts Festival). She directed the premiere of Chris Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann’s In a Grove at Pittsburgh Opera in 2022.
On the faculty of The Juilliard School since 2011, Birnbaum serves as the Dramatic Advisor to the MMGD program. She coaches at the Lindemann Young Artists Program at The Metropolitan Opera. In 2023, she became the General and Artistic director of Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York.
A graduate of Harvard College, Mary Birnbaum trained professionally in physical theater at L’École Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
HIGHLIGHTS
SANKARAM
MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR
OCT 31 - NOV 7, 2026
WEILL
HAPPY END
NOV 12, 2026
KENNY
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY:
AN UNAUTHORIZED OPERA
NOV 6, 2026
“viscerally overwhelming”
“superb staging”
“thoughtful direction, rich with imaginative touches”
for directing inquiries, please contact
For acting classes, private coaching, or dramaturgical consulting, you can reach Mary directly at:
mbirnbaum@juilliard.edu