BIOGRAPHY

Theater director Brenna Corner smiles at the camera and leans on a portmanteau chest of drawers in a rehearsal hall. She is wearing a white, long-sleeved cactus print shirt, a multicoloured paisely scarf, and has her hands clasped loosely.

Brenna Corner is an international opera and theatre stage director working across the United States, Canada and Europe. She is also the Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria, in British Columbia Canada.

Select directing projects include: Il Trovatore (Washington National Opera); Tenor Overboard (Glimmerglass Festival); H.M.S Pinafore (Vancouver Opera); Carmen (Des Moines Metro Opera); Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera); Hansel and Gretel (San Diego Opera & Vancouver Opera); La Bohème (Calgary Opera); Dead Man Walking (The Israeli Opera); La Bohème (The Dallas Opera); Noye’s Fludd & Scalia/Ginsburg (Glimmerglass Opera); Sweeney Todd (New Orleans Opera); Der fliegende Holländer (Cincinnati Opera & Houston Grand Opera); L’Elisir d’Amore (Vancouver Opera); Carmen (The Atlanta Opera); and Cendrillon & La Clemenza di Tito (Manitoba Underground Opera).

She was the founding Artistic Director of Manitoba Underground Opera, which produces a festival of new operatic experiences each August in Winnipeg. She has also worked as a dramatic coach for training programs including The Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist Program in Washington D.C.

Brenna made her directorial main stage debut in 2016 with a new production of Hansel and Gretel designed by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop for Vancouver Opera. This production has since toured North America, and was mostly recently produced for San Diego Opera as part of their 2019-20 season. She made her American directorial debut in February of 2017 with New Orleans Opera, creating a new production of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

During the COVID-19 pandemic she created new opera experiences through film including Don Giovanni for Seattle Opera, Carmen: Up-Close and Personal for Vancouver Opera, Dear Mom: a web series for Kentucky Opera and Green Envelopes for Manitoba Underground Opera.

Brenna was a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera and spent two years as the resident director for The Atlanta Opera Studio Artist Program. She is a certified member of Fight Directors Canada and has choreographed many fights for both opera and theatre.

She studied classical music at The University of Manitoba, and she has diplomas in theatre from Grant MacEwan College and The British American Drama Academy.

Media

Headshots

Brenna Corner leans against a wooden door and smiles at the camera in a black and white photo. Her long, dark hair is curled and parted to the side and she's wearing a dark coloured jacket over a dark top and dark pants and a light, printed scarf.
Brenna Corner smiles at the camera in a black and white photo. She is wearing a high-necked sleeveless dress with a floral print in gold brocade against a black backdrop. Her head tilts slightly to the left and she has her hands on her hips.

Process PHOTOS

Director Brenna Corner sweeps her right hand across her body, gesturing to children actors on stage carrying a large cutout of an illustrate fox. The scene is lit with stage lighting and the children are in costume.
Stage director Brenna Corner leans towards a large group of young people in costume on stage. She holds an iPad in her hand and wears a face mask. In the background, stage lights can be seen in the wings of the stage. The children are focused on her.