A finalist in the 2020 International Opera Awards in the Best Newcomer category, American director Louisa Muller is quickly rising to prominence for her versatility and work of ‘complex finesse’ (The Guardian). Louisa’s recent production of The Turn of the Screw for Garsington Opera was the recipient of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award and named by The Guardian as one of the Top Ten Classical Music Performances of the Year.

In the 22/23 season Louisa makes her Houston Grand Opera debut with a new production of Dame Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago to lead its production of Ernani, and revives her production of Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula for Philharmonia Baroque. Further ahead, Louisa will create new productions for Santa Fe Opera, Rinaldo for Pinchgut Opera and returns to Garsington Opera after her award-winning debut with the company.

In the 21/22 season Louisa created new productions of Amadigi di Gaula for Boston Baroque, The Rake’s Progress for The Juilliard School, and returned to Garsington Opera to revive her production of The Turn of the Screw. Elsewhere, Louisa lead productions of Tosca in her return to Lyric Opera of Chicago and in her debut with Opera Colorado, and revived Tannhäuser in her return to Los Angeles Opera.

Other recent highlights have included concert stagings of Ariadne auf Naxos for the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival, Don Giovanni at the Royal Conservatory Antwerp, and Das Rheingold with the New York Philharmonic, named as one of The New York Times Best Classical Music Performances of 2017.

Louisa’s opera credits include Madama Butterfly and La bohème for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Don Carlo for Los Angeles Opera, and La Traviata for Minnesota Opera. Louisa has also led productions of Madama Butterfly for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Houston Grand Opera, and Opera Queensland. Enjoying a strong relationship with Wolf Trap Opera, Louisa has directed new productions of Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles, The Rape of Lucretia, Tosca, and Roméo et Juliette. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s directing staff, Louisa has lead revivals of Michael Grandage’s Don Giovanni, David McVicar’s Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci and Bartlett Sher’s L'elisir d’amore.

Louisa’s work with young singers has included twice directing the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Rising Stars Concert, as well as masterclasses and coaching at the National Opera Studio, Houston Grand Opera Studio and Young Artists Vocal Academy, Wolf Trap Opera, Baylor University, University of Wisconsin, Lawrence University, the University of Texas, and has been a faculty member of the Scuola di Belcanto in Urbania, Italy. Louisa has directed scenes for Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera Studio, Wolf Trap Opera Studio and Rice University.

Educated at Lawrence University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Louisa divides her time between her native US and her home in Vienna.