Grant Preisser is the current artistic director for Opera Orlando, while also directing and designing across the country. As artistic director he supervises all production and marketing efforts for the company, and in the upcoming season, Mr. Preisser will be scenic designer for all-new productions of Macbeth, Cendrillon, and Treemonisha, and he will also direct a site specific production of Werther as well as a double bill of a one-act version of Beatrice + Benedict, which he is also developing a new translation for in collaboration with Alan Olejniczak and Cavalleria Rusticana. In the 2023-24 season Mr. Preisser was scenic designer for Tosca, Frida, and The Juniper Tree, and was stage director for productions of Rusalka and Lucia di Lammermoor. In October of 2023, he served as scenic designer for Florida State Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, and in June of 2024, he designed and directed Lucia di Lammermoor for St. Pete Opera. Coming out of COVID-19, Mr. Preisser directed and designed productions of The Magic Flute, Gianni Schicchi, the world premiere of Death of Ivan Ilych, and La Traviata, as well as designing productions of Carmen, Rigoletto, The Daughter of the Regiment, and the world premiere of The Secret River, all for Opera Orlando.
In the 2019-20 season Mr. Preisser provided scenic design for The Marriage of Figaro, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Daughter of the Regiment (cancelled due to COVID-19). He also directed and designed the Florida premiere of All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914, and he returned to the University of Michigan as guest faculty, directing and designing their production of Die Fledermaus and directing Stradella’s La Susanna in partnership with the University’s Early Music Ensemble (both were cancelled due to COVID-19).
Mr. Preisser’s 2018-19 season commenced with his third production at UrbanArias in Washington, D.C. directing and designing the world premiere of Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi’s The Last American Hammer, conducted by company general director Robert Wood. This production was also featured as part of Opera America’s New Works Forum. His time with UrbanArias was followed by a return to Opera Orlando where he provided scenic design for a new production of Tales of Hoffmann directed by Eve Summer and conducted by Jorge Parodi, and directed and designed the company’s holiday production of Hansel & Gretel.
Mr. Preisser also returned to University of Michigan as visiting professor of opera, teaching acting and movement courses and directing and designing a new production of Alcina, conducted by Stephanie Rhodes Russell. He also made his debut with Opera in the Heights in Houston, directing and designing Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires, conducted by company artistic director Eiki Isomura. In May he directed a concert version of Così fan tutte for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by music director Ward Stare, followed by a residency with Chautauqua Opera directing their outreach version of Il barbiere di Siviglia and assistant directing The Ghosts of Versailles, directed by Peter Kazaras, as well as a full production of Il barbiere di Sivviglia, directed by Kathleen Belcher. His 2018-2019 season finished with directing Frida for Opera Steamboat, and directing and designing Pagliacci for the Savannah Voice Festival.
Past seasons featured Mr. Preisser’s work as scenic designer for Opera Orlando productions of Brundibar, La bohème, and La Cenerentola, as well as co-directing and designing a new production of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Grant directed University of Michigan’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Martin Katz, and Opera Steamboat’s young artist production of Cunning Little Vixen, conducted by Joshua Horsch. He returned to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara as assistant director for L’elisir d’amore working alongside acclaimed director James Darrah and conductor Speranza Scappucci. He also directed part of the OperaFest scenes program working with John Churchwell as music director. Grant is equally at home with new repertoire directing and designing the Usonian Edition premiere of Daron Hagen's Shining Brow with UrbanArias, having also directed and designed The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat for the company in its previous season.
Additional directorial and design experience includes productions of Don Pasquale, Don Giovanni and L'incoronazione di Poppea, as well as original outreach productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Joe Illick and Mark Campbell’s Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, and the premiere of Lori Laitman’s abridged The Three Feathers in collaboration with the composer. He has directed The Magic Flute for Lawrence Opera Theatre, designed the world premiere of The Woman of Salt, and provided scenic design for Postcard from Morocco and a double bill of the American premiere of The Prodigal Child and Menotti’s The Medium produced by Florida State Opera.
Having received his undergraduate degree in music from Florida State University, Grant served as production coordinator for the Florida State Opera for two seasons before attaining a graduate degree in interior design. After establishing himself as a designer and design educator as associate vice president of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Hong Kong, he married his expertise in classical music and design by pursuing another master’s degree in stage direction at Florida State University.