Bio
Stephanie Havey is an acclaimed stage director, producer, and educator who is recognized for her vivid stagecraft, incisive dramatic pacing, and commitment to creating compelling, resonant storytelling.
Her extensive professional portfolio includes directing and staging staff credits for many of the nation’s most distinguished opera companies and symphony orchestras, among them San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Detroit Opera, The Dallas Opera, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Utah Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Virginia Opera, Sarasota Opera, New York City Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, and the Lyrique-en-mer International Festival de Belle-Île.
A passionate advocate for the creation and development of new operatic repertoire, Ms. Havey has collaborated with composers Missy Mazzoli and Lembit Beecher for Opera Philadelphia’s Double Exposure series and OPERA America’s New Works Forum. She served for three seasons as Resident Stage Director for the North American New Opera Workshop. She is currently collaborating with composer Jennifer Jolley on the development of a new opera, supported by the OPERA America Discovery Grant for Women Composers — a testament to her dedication to expanding the canon and elevating underrepresented voices in the field.
Ms. Havey also serves as Artistic Director of Finger Lakes Opera (FLO) in Rochester, New York, centering ambitious interdisciplinary partnerships with organizations such as Garth Fagan Dance, the Rochester Oratorio Society, the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her leadership at FLO continues to strengthen the region’s cultural fabric and champion innovative, accessible opera for new audiences.
As an educator and mentor, Ms. Havey’s impact is equally far-reaching. During her tenure as Director of Opera Theater at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she spearheaded cross-campus and community collaborations, including an ongoing partnership with the Allen Memorial Art Museum for the curation of operatic themed tours and classes and a partnership with Oberlin College Libraries for the centennial of Melville’s Billy Budd, directed and produced an educational opera outreach tour for local elementary schools, initiated live-streaming of all conservatory opera productions to expand access, and directed a wide range of repertoire including Albert Herring, L’Orfeo, Cendrillon, La finta giardiniera, and the academic premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’s Omar, produced in collaboration with the Oberlin Orchestra, Choral Ensembles, and the Maltz Performing Arts Center.
Since 2023, Ms. Havey has served as dramatic coach for the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy and continues to be an in-demand guest director and instructor for some of the country’s most prestigious conservatories and professional training programs, including the Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes School of Music at The New School, Manhattan School of Music, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, UNCSA A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, and OPERA America’s Career Blueprints. Through her artistic leadership and dedication to the next generation of artists, she remains committed to nurturing vibrant, thoughtful, and courageous storytelling on the operatic stage.
