Michael Shell

Michael Shell joined the faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music as a full-time visiting lecturer teaching classes in acting technique and opera workshop. He has directed productions for Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Omaha, Opera San Jose, Opera Tampa, Opera North, Virginia Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Wexford Festival Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Shell made his international directing debut at the Wexford Festival Opera in 2010 with a production of “Winners,” by American composer Richard Wargo. Shell’s “visionary” and “masterful storytelling” (Opera News) is leading him to be one of the most sought-after directors in the United States. His “thoughtful and detailed score study” (Opera Today) is shown in character development and relationships onstage as well as the complete visual world he creates.

He has been a guest faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Florida State University and Webster University, St. Louis, teaching opera workshop and directing undergraduate opera scenes. He has been a guest director at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at Oklahoma University and was a guest faculty member for the Summer Opera Program in Tel Aviv in 2018 and 2019.

Areas of Expertise

Opera and musicals stage direction, acting technique instructor, experience in the professional world of opera as a freelance director.

Other Information