E. Loren Meeker is a stage director whose work has been seen at leading companies across the United States, South America, Asia, and Europe. In November of 2019, she was named General & Artistic Director of Opera San Antonio, having previously served as Artistic Advisor at that company. Ms. Meeker continues her collaboration with Opera San Antonio during the 2024-2025 season, directing a production of Madama Butterfly that she also directs at Austin Opera. Earlier in the season, she mounts a new production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Florentine Opera.
A diverse artist whose background in dance and theatre allows her to bring a unique vision to her work, Loren has received critical acclaim for recent productions of Carmen at Washington National Opera and Lucia di Lammermoor at New Orleans Opera. Tim Smith, of Opera News wrote "There was nothing routine about the production of Carmen at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Attractively cast, fluently directed by E. Loren Meeker and incisively conducted by Evan Rogister, the venture crackled with energy from the top of the Prelude to Act I." Theodore P. Mahne of the Times-Picayune titled his review of Lucia, “ 'Lucia di Lammermoor’ more than a mad scene in director’s strong vision”. He went on to say, “Meeker's concept behind this weekend's production is to transfer Sir Walter Scott's Scottish tale from the late 16th-century House of Stuart to the period roughly of ‘Downton Abbey’: Edwardian Britain. The result is both a theatrical and musical success, a production filled with vitality.”
Ms. Meeker’s highlights over recent seasons include a reprisal of her production of La bohème with The Glimmerglass Festival; Hansel and Gretel and Turandot for New Orleans Opera; a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte for her debut with Arizona Opera; Verdi’s La Traviata for her company debut with Opera Omaha; Le nozze di Figaro with Austin Opera; productions of Rigoletto, Hansel and Gretel, The Pirates of Penzance, and Tosca with Opera San Antonio; Madama Butterfly with Portland Opera and Florida Grand Opera; Don Giovanni with Washington National Opera; Susannah with Rice University; and Showboat with The Glimmerglass Festival, co-directed with Francesca Zambello. With Houston Grand Opera she directed Les pêcheurs de perles, remounted Zambello’s Florencia en el Amazonas, and directed a pair of filmed productions streaming on Marquee.tv: David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s Vinkensport (co-directed with Ryan McKinny) and Mozart’s The Impresario.
Other credits include The Cunning Little Vixen (The Glimmerglass Festival, Boston University), Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Daughter of the Regiment (Atlanta Opera), La pietra del paragone (Wolf Trap Opera), La bohème (Opera San Antonio, The Glimmerglass Festival, San Diego Opera), Amleto (Opera Delaware), Show Boat and Manon (The Dallas Opera), Die Fledermaus (Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera), Manon Lescaut (Singapore Lyric Opera), Manon (Teatro Colón), Madama Butterfly (North Carolina Opera), Carmen and L'elisir d'amore (Finger Lakes Opera), Lohengrin (Opera Southwest) and Cendrillon and Vinkensport, or the Finch Opera (Boston University Opera Institute). In addition to her work with standard repertoire, Loren has directed five world premieres for Houston Grand Opera (HGOco) and Jason and the Argonauts for Lyric Opera of Chicago (Lyric Unlimited).
Loren has been on the directing staff at some of the most prestigious opera companies in the nation including Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Central City Opera where she was the 2006 recipient of the John Moriarty Award. These opportunities have allowed her to work with many distinguished directors who have greatly influenced her career, such as Sir David McVicar and Francesca Zambello.
While in residence at Central City Opera Loren was able to lend her talents as a movement teacher and choreographer. Her work as a choreographer has also been seen at Glimmerglass Festival (Orpheus in the Underworld), Houston Grand Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni), and Opera Boston (La Vie Parisienne).
Loren began her training at a young age developing skills as a dancer and gymnast, later combining her talents in these disciplines with her love for acting and singing. She attended Boston University where she received a BFA, summa cum laude, in Theatre Studies (focus in directing and choreography). After graduating she began to apply her diverse background to opera.
Loren has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work. Two of Loren’s productions for the New Orleans Opera have won the Gambit “Best of Opera” award – Faust (2017) and Die Fledermaus (2015). DC Metro Theater Arts named her production of Carmen for Washington National Opera the “Best Opera of 2015”. Other awards and honors include: Lakmè, Rutgers University, first prize in Division IV of the Opera Production Competition sponsored by the National Opera Association; Cendrillon, Boston University Opera Institute, nominated for 6 "Best Of" ArtsImpluse Theatre Awards.
