Dale Dreyfoos

Dale Dreyfoos has had a multi-faceted career as a stage director, character tenor, actor, educator, and arts administrator. He currently serves as professor of opera/music theatre at Arizona State University, a position he has held since 1994, where he received the “Distinguished Professor Award” for the College of Fine Arts in 1996. His many exceptional students have had internationally and nationally successful careers at many of the most prestigious opera houses throughout the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bavarian State Opera, Glyndeborne Festival, Maggio Musical Fiorentino, San Francisco Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, as well as on Broadway and Broadway National Tours.

As a stage director, Dreyfoos has directed more than 50 productions of operas, operettas, and musicals, including THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, THE MAGIC FLUTE, COSI FAN TUTTE, L’ELISIR D’AMORE, THE BARTERED BRIDE, OKLAHOMA, GIULIO CESARE, XERXES, HMS PINAFORE, LA PERICHOLE, THE SECRET GARDEN, THE TURN OF THE SCREW, DIDO AND AENEAS, AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, THE CORONATION OF POPPEA, GIANNI SCHICCHI, SUOR ANGELICA, SUSANNAH, LA SERVA PADRONA, HANSEL AND GRETEL, ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, DON PASQUALE, THE IMPRESARIO, RIDERS TO THE SEA, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT, ALBERT HERRING, GALLANTRY, DIE FLEDERMAUS, CINDERELLA, NUNSENSE, HELP! HELP! THE GLOBOLINKS, SIGNOR DELUSO and the world premiere of THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF for such companies as Opera Carolina, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston Opera Company, Birmingham Civic Opera, Arizona Opera Education Tour, Milton Center Series, and Arizona State University’s Lyric Opera Theater. He has also served as an Assistant Director for productions of LA CENERENTOLA, THE MIKADO, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, LA BOHEME, and DON PASQUALE with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists, Opera Carolina, Des Moines Metro Opera, Birmingham Civic Opera and the Mississippi Opera. His directing credits also include more than 40 Opera Scenes programs at ASU, Arizona Opera, Opera Carolina, Birmingham Civic Opera, Mississippi Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Charleston Opera Company, University of Texas, Baptist College at Charleston, and in Milton, Massachusetts.

Mr. Dreyfoos began his performing career at the age of 10 as the Boy Soprano soloist with the Atlanta Boy Choir, during which time he appeared as a soloist in Mozart’s VESPERAE SOLENNES DE CONFESSORE with Robert Shaw & the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as appearing in the French, Spanish, and Moroccan premieres of Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera THE GOLDEN VANITY, performing for such musical icons as Mlle. Nadia Boulanger and Mme. Katchaturian. Since that time, Mr. Dreyfoos has made a specialty of appearing in a wide variety of character roles including Vespone in LA SERVA PADRONA, Ambrogio in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, Goro in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Frosch & Dr. Blind in DIE FLEDERMAUS, The Old Prisoner in LA PERICHOLE, Senex in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, Henry in THE FANTASTICKS, Herr Schultz in CABARET, King Sextimus in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, Moonface Martin in ANYTHING GOES, Nnegus in THE MERRY WIDOW, Voltaire/Dr. Pangloss/Governor/Host/Sage/Baron/Don Isaachar/Lisbon Man/El Dorado Native/Bulgar King in CANDIDE, Frisellino in LE PESCATRICE, Mozart in A VISIT WITH AMADEUS, Ben in THE TELEPHONE, Grandpa in AVENUE JEW, the Duchess of Krackenthorp in LA FILLE DU REGIMENT, Edna in BYE,BYE, BIRDIE and Queen Elizabeth II in HMS PINAFORE with such companies as the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Arizona Opera, Opera Carolina, Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, Birmingham Civic Opera, Mississippi Opera, Newberry Opera, Charleston Opera Company, Shakespeare Sedona, and ASU’s Lyric Opera Theatre. He has also appeared as the “Bargain Countertenor soloist” in P.D.Q. Bach’s THE SEASONINGS with the Alabama Symphony under the direction of Peter Schickele. He recently appeared in the professional American premiere of Emerich Kalman’s operetta ARIZONA LADY for Arizona Opera in the role of Peligreen.

He has also made special guest appearances for television and public radio stations in Charleston, SC, Charlotte, NC, Phoenix, AZ, and Atlanta, GA, and is a featured performer on two educational compact discs, BIBLE TIMES I & III, several Historical Audio Tours for cities in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and the Edgar Alan Poe house in Maryland, as well as an educational cd-rom OPERA-HA HA, produced by Arizona Opera. He has most recently been a featured performer for the State Of Georgia’s special commemorative audio tour in honor the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Mr. Dreyfoos is the author of two highly acclaimed educational music dramas, A VISIT WITH AMADEUS and A VISIT WITH MR. & MRS. BACH, which have received over 2,000 performances throughout the eastern United States. He has also recent served as a the author of two narration scripts for the 50th Anniversary of the Santa Fe Opera and an Opera Gala for Arizona Opera, which were narrated by Frederica Von Stade and Hugh Downs, respectively. Mr. Dreyfoos’ short article “In Memory of Lucia Popp” was printed in OPERA NOW MAGAZINE in 1994.

From 1996-2010, Mr. Dreyfoos served as a stage artistry instructor for the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.