John La Bouchardière
(director) was born in Hampshire, was a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford,
and studied music, drama and opera to post-graduate level at Birmingham
University. He worked as an assistant and revival director for companies including
BBC, Channel 4 (Operatunity), English National Opera
(where he
was on staff from 1996 to 2000), New Israeli Opera, Opera Graz, Opéra National
du Rhin, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Teatro Liceu (Barcelona) Vlaamse Opera,
Teatro São Carlos (Lisbon), La Fenice and Opera Zurich.
As a director in his own right, his productions include The Full
Monteverdi with I Fagiolini, international tour and winning a Royal
Philharmonic Society Award; The Medium and Ten Belles for RWCMD; Rigoletto
for Opera Holland Park; Eugene Onegin and Tamerlano for Scottish
Opera; Don Giovanni in Varna, Bulgaria; Kvinneliv for Sommersang,
Ringve; Semele for Scottish Opera and Florentine Opera, Milwaukee; Carmen
for Opera Nordfjordeid, Norway; Giasone for Royal Academy of Music and Idomeneo for Florentine Opera.
He recently blindfolded audiences for his production of Lera Auerbach's The Blind at Lincoln Center Festival and Trondheim Chamber Music Festival.
John's acclaimed film The Full Monteverdi, based on his live
production, has been releasedworldwide in cinemas, on television and
DVD, and was awarded a Choc du monde de la musique. He also wrote and directed Music Room, an eight-part TV series for
Sky Arts.
Plans include a new production of John Adams's El Niño for Spoleto USA and a devised
site-specific project with I Fagiolini.