Prof. Cynthia Stokes
American stage and opera director Cynthia Stokes is dedicated to fostering community through the transformative power of live performance in unexpected locations and through the use of innovative media. Her latest project, Hearing the Invisible, is a collaboration between art and science, launched at the University of Arizona. The installation explores the diagnostic potential of audio EEG brain activity to distinguish between individuals with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and healthy subjects. By combining interactive art, original music composed by UA School of Music students, and groundbreaking research, Hearing the Invisible highlights the complexities of invisible diseases and the importance of early diagnosis through audio brainwave analysis while revealing the innerworkings of the human brain.
Her site-specific opera productions include: Joan of Arc: The Trial at Rouen, staged in a cathedral two weeks after Hurricane Helene in North Carolina for Piedmont Opera; La hija de Rappaccini, presented in the public slot-canyon lobby of ENR2 at the University of Arizona; Queen of Carthage, an adaptation of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, staged overlooking Southern California’s last undeveloped Pacific coastline for the Without Walls Festival; and The Andrée Expedition by Dominic Argento, premiered in an abandoned marble quarry in Vermont and featuring American baritone Michael Chioldi.
During the pandemic, Stokes reimagined The Andrée Expedition as a virtual reality experience. The Andrée Expedition 360 VR placed the audience, performer, and pianist together on a floating ice pack, suspended in air and time. This innovative project premiered at SXSW in March 2022.
Stokes has also directed traditional productions for esteemed companies including Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, San Diego Opera, Opera San José, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Carolina, Glimmerglass Opera, Piedmont Opera, and Opera Philadelphia. In addition, she has served on the directing staff of The Dallas Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, The Florentine Opera, Opera Pacific, and Glimmerglass Opera.
As the Amelia T. Rieman Endowed Chair for Opera at the University of Arizona, Ms. Stokes leads the opera program and spearheads innovative initiatives. Her recent grants include funding from the Arizona Arts Commission, the University of Arizona Provost Initiative Grant for her Digital and Performing Arts Lab, a Qualcomm Ideas Grant, and The UA Research and Leadership Institute. She is a board member of the National Opera Association and has served as a panelist for Opera America and the Arizona Arts Commission.