Production Designer

Tragedia giapponese in two acts by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
after Pierre Loti, John Luther Long and David Belasco

EPSG:4326

Madama Butterfly

Opernhaus Zürich

A body is found in the ice, and a woman is looking for her father while a man searches for his lost lover.

This story is as much about origins as it is about memory, and remembering what is lost. Mnemonic asks: what is our place in the natural world? How have human relationships with the environment shaped patterns of migration? Who are we, and where do we come from?

Mnemonic

National Theatre

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczala as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo.

MET: Carmen (Bizet)

Highlands Performing Arts Center

Three extraordinary sopranos—Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleonora Buratto, and Asmik Grigorian (in her highly anticipated Met debut)—tackle the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the loyal geisha at the heart of Puccini’s devastating tragedy. Tenors Matthew Polenzani and Jonathan Tetelman co-star as the callous American naval officer Pinkerton, whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth DeShong and Eve Gigliotti share the role of the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Davide Luciano and Lucas Meachem are the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production.

Lincoln Center

For the naval lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, his marriage to Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly, is a non-committal convenience during his stay in Nagasaki.

felt  Butterfly

Vienna State Opera

The Met celebrates the New Year with a vital new production of one of opera’s most enduringly popular and powerful works. Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story of deadly passion with a staging that moves the action to the modern day, amid a band of human traffickers.

Carmen

One of opera’s most beloved works receives its first new Met staging in 19 years—a daring vision by renowned English director Simon McBurney that The Wall Street Journal declared “the best production I’ve ever witnessed of Mozart’s opera.” Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the Met Orchestra, with the pit raised to make the musicians visible to the audience and allow interaction with the cast. In his Met-debut staging, McBurney lets loose a volley of theatrical flourishes, incorporating projections, sound effects, and acrobatics to match the spectacle and drama of Mozart’s fable. The brilliant cast includes soprano Erin Morley as Pamina, tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Tamino, baritone Thomas Oliemans in his Met debut as Papageno, soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, and bass Stephen Milling as Sarastro.

Die Zauberflöte

She loved him at first sight. But Onegin, an aristocrat obsessed with appearances, could never be happy with a country girl like Tatyana. Or so he thought. Emotions run high in Tchaikovsky's drama Eugene Onegin, based on Alexander Pushkin's deeply human story.  Gorgeous sweeping melodies melt the heart, making this one of opera's most romantic masterpieces—from Tatyana's ardent letter scene to the intense final duet as Tatyana and Onegin fight for their emotional lives.

Eugene Onegin

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Danae must marry a wealthy man to settle her father's debts. All dream of gold here, and Danae more than all others. A powerful man takes an interest in her and sends another ahead. It would appear the right husband has been found. But, of course his wealth comes with a condition which stands in the way of true happiness. Danae must, Danae can choose between wealth and love, between dreams and reality, between the promises of wealth and riches, and of love and all its happiness. 

The Love of Danae

Max-Joseph-Platz

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin is one of opera’s most romantic masterpieces, an aching meditation on happiness undone. Canadian director Robert Carsen’s stunningly simple staging enjoys an international reputation as “a piece of contemporary operatic history” (The Globe and Mail) and returns to the COC for the first time since 2018.

Canadian Opera Company

Ian McEwan, born in 1948, is one of the most important voices in contemporary English literature. His successful 2001 novel Atonement is about a life spent atoning for an early debt: Through a deliberate false statement, Briony Tallis, a pubescent, overzealous writer in 1930s England, puts her older sister’s unfit lover in prison and destroys the lives and loves of two people

Michael Levine

Production Designer

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 7 - Jul 25, 2025

The Love of Danae · Bayerische Staatsoper

2 - 24 May, 2025

Eugene Onegin · Canadian Opera Company

14 - 22 Jun, 2025

Atonement · Opernhaus Zürich

Past events

Dec 22, 2024 - Jan 4, 2025

Madama Butterfly · Opernhaus Zürich

Aug 10, 2024

Mnemonic · National Theatre

About

Michael Levine hasn't added a bio