Darko Tresnjak Explained
Darko Tresnjak (Serbian: Дарко Трешњак|Darko Trešnjak) is a director of plays, musicals, and opera, and winner of several awards, including the Tony Award. He was the artistic director of the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, United States.
Early life and education
Tresnjak is of Serbian heritage.[1] Tresnjak and his mother moved from Zemun, Yugoslavia (modern-day Serbia) to Maryland in 1976. He graduated from Swarthmore College, became a US citizen, and received a master of fine arts degree from Columbia University.[2]
Career
Around 2000 he wrote Princess Turandot, inspired by Carlo Gozzi's play written in 1762 (upon which Puccini's opera Turandot was based). Tresnjak's play was performed by the Blue Light Theater Company in New York City in December 2000.[3]
He served as resident artistic director at Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, in 2009,[4] and directed for eight summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.[2]
He was the artistic director at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut[5] from the 2011–2012 season through the 2018–2019 season,[6] where he commissioned The Man in the Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov[7] and directed Kevin Bacon in Rear Window.[8] He left the Hartford Stage for freelance work in June 2019,[9] and was succeeded by Melia Bensussen.[10]
He directed two productions on Broadway: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder in 2013 and Anastasia in 2017.[11] [12]
He directed the Theatre for a New Audience production of Eugène Ionesco's The Killer in 2014 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, New York City.[13]
Awards
Productions
Hartford Stage productions
Tresnjak's productions at Hartford Stage have included:
Other theater and opera
Notes and References
- Web site: Darko Tresnjak Readies His Final Performance At Hartford Stage. Mejia. Carlos. www.wnpr.org. 8 February 2019 . en. 2019-06-30.
- Shirley, Don. "He prefers it rare" Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2004
- Web site: Princess Turandot . TheaterMania . Michael . Portantiere. December 13, 2000 . 12 December 2021.
- BWW News Desk. "Old Globe’s 2009 Summer Festival" BroadwayWorld.com
- http://www.playbill.com/article/darko-tresnjak-extends-contract-at-hartford-stage "Darko Tresnjak"
- Gates, Anita. "Darko Tresnjak Takes Over at Hartford Stage" The New York Times, September 18, 2011
- Rizzo, Frank. "Misha, 'Man In A Case,' At Hartford Stage" Hartford Courant
- Rizzo, Frank. "Kevin Bacon to Star in ‘Rear Window’ at Hartford Stage" Hartford Courant
- Arnott, Christopher. "Darko Tresnjak says goodbye to Hartford Stage with the new musical 'Flamingo Kid'" Hartford Courant, May 9, 2019
- Web site: Arnott. Christopher. 2019-01-10. Meet Melia Bensussen, the new artistic leader of Hartford Stage. live. 2021-08-27. Hartford Courant. https://web.archive.org/web/20190111021442/https://www.courant.com/ctnow/arts-theater/hc-ctnow-profile-new-director-hartford-stage-20190110-5qtezydkjze7fddfw5vnnxv7yy-story.html . 2019-01-11 .
- https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/theater/reviews/a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-on-broadway.html "Reviews"
- https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/darko-tresnjak-494808/#awards "Awards"
- https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Oscar-Nominee-Michael-Shannon-to-Lead-Theatre-for-a-New-Audiences-THE-KILLER-Begin-Today-20140516 "Theatre for a New Audience's THE KILLER, Starring Michael Shannon, Begins Tonight"
- Rizzo, Frank. "Tony Wins for Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak And 'A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder'" Hartford Courant, June 9, 2014
- Cox, Gordon."Drama Desk Toasts Broadway’s ‘Gentleman’s Guide’ at 2014 Awards" Variety.com
- http://www.obieawards.com/2015/05/2015-obie-award-winners-announced/ Winners in 2015
- https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2015-Obie-Award-Winners-Updating-LIVE-20150518 HAMILTON, Darko Tresnjak, Ayad Akhtar & More Win 2015 Obie Awards - Full List!"
- Arnott, Christopher. The Heartbreak House Hartford Courant, 2017
- Harrison, Joseph. "Review. The Comedy of Errors" Broadway World, 2017
- Fillo, Maryellen. "'Romeo and Juliet'" Connecticut Mag
- Rizzo, Frank. "Kevin Bacon to Star in ‘Rear Window’ at Hartford Stage" Hartford Courant
- McNulty, Charles. " 'Kiss Me Kate' Review" Los Angeles Times
- Gates, Anita. "Review. 'Private Lives'" The New York Times, 2015
- Rizzo, Frank. "Review. Hamlet'" Hartford Courant, 2014
- Rizzo, Frank. "Review. Macbeth" Hartford Courant, 2013
- Gold, Sylviane. "Review. La Dispute" The New York Times, 2013
- Gold, Sylviane. "Review. Twelfth Night" The New York Times
- Gold, Sylviane. "Review. Breath and Imagination" The New York Times, 2013
- Isherwood, Charles. "Reviews" The New York Times, 2012
- Gold, Sylviane. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/nyregion/a-review-of-the-tempest-at-hartford-stage.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=51F93134C8F447D7961EF852757CB746&gwt=pay The New York Times
- Rizzo, Frank. "Behind the Curtain" Hartford Courant, 2012
- Davidson, Justin. "Opera Review: The Met Brings Back 'Samson et Dalila', With Just Enough Fromage" Vulture, September 25, 2018
- Swed, Mark. "Plácido Domingo's sound and fury in L.A. Opera's 'Macbeth' Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2016
- Martinez, Matthew. " 'The Ghosts of Versailles' a triumph at LA Opera" Bachtrack, February 9, 2015
- Green, Jesse. "Review" Vulture, 2014
- http://www.operatoday.com/content/2011/02/der_zerbrochene.php Der zerbrochene Krug / Der Zwerg
- Mermelstein, David. "New Life for Works Hitler Tried to Kill" The New York Times, February 10, 2008
- Jones, Kenneth. "Goodspeed's 'City of Angels' Will Star D.B. Bonds, Burke Moses, Laurie Wells, Nancy Anderson" Playbill, August 17, 2011
- Nestruck, J. Kelly. "Stratford’s 'Titus Andronicus' is electrical" The Globe and Mail, July 15, 2011
- Billington, Michael. The Guardian
