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discipline = "Conductor"
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slug = "joseph-mechavich"
title = "Joseph Mechavich"
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url = "https://twitter.com/mojoemech"

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Conductor Joseph Mechavich’s passion and commitment to excellence in the art form has helped to forge strong personal and career-defining relationships with a number of opera companies and orchestras in the United States and abroad. Maestro Mechavich has presided over productions of _Porgy and Bess_ for Deutsche Oper Berlin, _Nixon in China_ for Auckland Philharmonia/New Zealand Opera, _Il barbiere di Siviglia_ for The Washington National Opera, _Madama Butterfly_ for New York City Opera, _Riders of the Purple Sage_ for Arizona Opera and _Roméo et Juliette_ for Florida Grand Opera. “One of the best things about this production \[Roméo et Juliette\] is the conducting of Joseph Mechavich, who led the proceedings superbly...You rarely hear this score with the kind of big-boned force with which Gounod wrote it, but Mechavich let it rip, with first rate results.” (Palm Beach Artspaper). 

The 2018-19 season includes _Werther_ with Florida Grand Opera, _Dead Man Walking_ with The Atlanta Opera, _Silent Night_ with Arizona Opera, _Die Fledermaus_ with Opera Tampa, _Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci_ with Madison Opera, and _Die Zauberflöte_ with Kentucky Opera. Future seasons include engagements with Kentucky Opera, Minnesota Opera, Austin Opera, Arizona Opera, North Carolina Opera, and Florentine Opera.

In addition to his impressive command of the standard operatic repertoire, Maestro Mechavich is also known for his deep commitment to American opera. Of his _Nixon in China_ at San Diego Opera, Broadway World extolled “The expertise in 21st century operatic repertoire that conductor Joseph Mechavich demonstrated in 2012’s _Moby-Dick_ has surely increased exponentially as portrayed in his rendering of John Adam’s complex score. Mechavich showed great command and sensitivity throughout, both controlling and supporting the orchestra in their task of performing parts that were most difficult and intricate." Mo. Mechavich is a champion of the music of Carlisle Floyd and Jake Heggie. He has conducted productions of Floyd's _Susannah_, _Of Mice and Men_, and _Cold Sassy Tree_ and recorded _Wuthering Heights_ which is the first recording in a multi-year project to record Floyd's unrecorded operas. Of his recoding of _Wuthering Heights_, Milwaukee Magazine states "but the real star here is Mechavich, who guided the orchestra and voices through Carlisle Floyd’s often tempestuous orchestrations. He and the orchestra painted wonderful sonic pictures, but always in the service of the story and drama.” Mo. Mechavich has conducted highly acclaimed productions by Jake Heggie such as _Moby-Dick_, _Great Scott_, _Out of Darkness: Two Remain_ and _Dead Man Walking_. In an interview with Classical Singer Magazine Heggie enthuses, “Joey is the very best kind of opera conductor…A real theater man who understands that dramatic pacing is absolutely everything. He’s a wonderful storyteller with baton in hand. He loves singers, loves words, loves the stage, loves the orchestra, and forces collectively to tell compelling stories…”

In past seasons Maestro Mechavich has conducted productions for Calgary Opera, Utah Opera, The Aspen Music Festival, Tulsa Opera, Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Dayton Opera, Madison Opera, New England Conservatory of Music, Oberlin Opera Theatre, Opera Saratoga and Virginia Opera. On the concert stage, Maestro Mechavich has appeared with the Florida Orchestra, The Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, Virginia Symphony and the Sarasota Orchestra. In 2010, Maestro Mechavich was named Principal Conductor of Kentucky Opera. A native of Long Lake, Minnesota, he studied at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music.