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ALISONPOGORELCDIRECTOR
about alison
Alison Pogorelc is an American director known for her bold, multidisciplinary approach to storytelling across opera, theater, and film.
This summer, she joins Central City Opera as Associate Director for the regional premiere of The Knock—a powerful opera by Aleksandra Vrebalov and Deborah Brevoort that captures the resilience of military spouses during the Iraq War.
Alison is currently a member of the stage directing staff at the Metropolitan Opera. In the previous season, she made her directing debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with Handel's Partenope, performed by members of Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program. She also stepped in to direct a striking new production of Strauss’ Salome at Des Moines Metro Opera, collaborating with Maestro David Neely and starring soprano Sara Gartland.
Photos by Romain Mayambi
Her West Coast debut came with a critically acclaimed staging of Paul Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue for West Edge Opera, which was named one of the Best Performances of 2022 by both the San Francisco Chronicle and Mercury News.
A recipient of the 2022/23 JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship from the National Opera Association and OPERA America's Robert L. B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize, Alison was recognized for her bold, Nietzschean vision of Salome.
She has directed a wide range of projects including the Studio Showcase at Wolf Trap Opera, Agrippina at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and assisted on the world stage premiere of The Knock at Cincinnati Opera with director Alison Moritz.
Alison is passionate about reviving early repertoire. In ongoing collaboration with Early Music Now (Milwaukee), she creates music-driven short films inspired by Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque works. Their latest film premiered in December 2022 and is available on Early Music Now’s website.
Earlier in her career, Alison held positions at The Glimmerglass Festival and Florentine Opera. A two-season alum of Glimmerglass’ Young Artist Program, she assisted on a new adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and worked alongside Francesca Zambello on Verdi’s Il trovatore. At Florentine Opera, she served as Resident Artist Director during the 2020/21 season, working on the Bronzeville La bohème School Tour and assisting Jill Anna Ponasik on Weill’s Mahagonny-Songspiel.
In her theater work, Alison is driven by a commitment to accessibility and inclusivity. She focuses on democratizing elevated language for a wider audience. Her adaptations and direction of works by Harold Pinter and Seamus Heaney reflect this mission, as does her creation of The Way Through Sorrow, a digital production for the first fully virtual Rochester Fringe Festival. Alison has also collaborated on readings of new plays by Justin McDevitt with Poetic Theater Productions and the Fifth Avenue Theatre Festival.
In rehearsal at the Glimmerglass Festival,
Photo by Karli Cadel
Her assistant directing credits include productions at the Metropolitan Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro, Moby Dick, Rigoletto, La rondine, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Idomeneo, Champion), Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, Mannes Opera, Berlin Opera Academy, and the Prototype Opera Festival.
Alison holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater with a concentration in directing and a minor in Literary Studies from The New School of Drama in New York City. She also earned an Artist Diploma in Operatic Stage Direction from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Robin Guarino and Greg Eldridge.
Behind the Scenes of Sleep Hath its Own World
Photo by Philipa Joy Kerr
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