Yuval Sharon Extends Contract as Artistic Director at Detroit Opera

The innovative director will remain with the company until the close of the 2027/28 season

The director Yuval Sharon, who became Artistic Director at Detroit Opera in 2020, has extended his contract — which will now run until the close of the 2027/28 season.

As part of the contract extension, Sharon has been able to plan the next few seasons around specific themes. These topics will be America (25/26), Faith (26/27), and Sustainability (27/28). These themes will inform repertoire choices and also guide institutional decisions and community education programs.

The 25/26 season's theme of America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Sharon has chosen works by American composers, as well as works about America by European composers, and these will act as a vehicle to ask questions about American identity and national consciousness.

A highly innovative director, Yuval Sharon is the founder and co-Artistic Director of The Industry, which has presented operatic performances in day-to-day spaces such as train stations, airplane hangars, and Los Angeles’s extensive network of roads and freeways.

He is also the first-ever Artist-Collaborator at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he directed productions of Meredith Monk’s ATLAS and John Cage’s Europeras 1&2. He was the first American ever to direct a performance at the Bayreuth Festival.

"Since I came to Detroit Opera in 2020, we have explored the environment of Detroit by staging operas in parking garages, at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, at the Gem Theatre, and more," Sharon said. “Now, we would like to explore things that really matter to this community, by bringing the energy and originality of some of the site-specific pieces into the Detroit Opera House."

"Rather than working backwards from conventional repertoire to identify a common theme, we are starting from the focus and imagining an entire season’s activities around it."

"The specific topics were chosen for how they will intersect with the Detroit community: exploring what it means to be an American now, in the past, and what that could look like in the future; how we grapple with faith and how our places of worship, our city, and even the opera house can lead to deep, lasting, and meaningful change; and how the consequences of climate change may affect artistic expression moving forward—and vice versa."

"But beyond our operatic explorations of each theme, the work is going to take place backstage, within our company, and offstage, within the city. I’m looking forward to working together with our staff and community partners to create a sustained relationship with people of Detroit who are also concerned about these issues."