Annilese Miskimmon

Born in Northern Ireland, Annilese Miskimmon is an opera director and Artistic Director.  She was appointed as Artistic Director of English National Opera in May 2020. She was Director of Opera for Norwegian Opera and Ballet in Oslo and previously Artistic Director and General Manager of Danish National Opera.

She studied English Literature at Christ’s College, Cambridge and  Arts Management at City University at the Barbican, London. Glyndebourne Festival and Tour appointed her Consultant Associate Director whereupon she became the Artistic Director of Opera Theatre Company – the National Touring Opera of Ireland.

She continues to work as a freelance director around the world and has worked extensively in the largest international opera houses. Notable productions include: Die Tote Stadt, The Handmaid’s Tale (ENO); The Turn of the Screw (Folkoperan, Sweden); Billy Budd (Den Norske Opera, Polish National Opera; Finnish National Opera); I Puritani (Liceu Barcelona, WNO); Madama Butterfly (Glyndebourne Festival and tour); Jenufa (Royal Opera, Stockholm; Scottish Opera); Kátya Kabanová, Don Quichotte (Danish National Opera); The Turn of the Screw, Falstaff, Iolanta (Opera Holland Park); Semele, Il re pastore (Garsington Opera); Der Freischütz (Landestheater, Salzburg).

Work with broadcasters includes that with NRK in Norway, Danish Radio and TV, RTE, BBC Radio 3 and 4, Sky Arts and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Barbican and the Proms. She commentates and writes regularly on opera for Norwegian, Irish, UK and Danish national and international television, radio and press.

Musicals include Bernstein’s On the Town at the Royal Festival Hall in London. She directed the world premiere of Roger Waters of Pink Floyd’s French Revolution based musical Ca Ira in Rome.

Her commitment to modern work includes the Irish, UK and French premiere of the Russian Grigory Frid’s The Diary of Anne Frank. Culture Ireland has funded her work to travel to the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. She commissioned award-winning new operas to celebrate Aarhus European City of Culture 2017.

Her critically acclaimed work has been nominated for and won awards including the International Opera Awards, Royal Philharmonic Society, UK Theatre Awards, South Bank Arts Awards, Guardian Theatre, Irish Times, Manchester Evening News Theatre and Aarhus Stiften awards.

She is an active member of Opera Europa and a regular conference speaker and leader. Jury work includes the Queen Sonia International Singing Competition, Independent Opera and Camerata Nuova directing Prizes, Royal Television Society’s Craft & Design Awards 2020 and the International Opera Awards.