"Opera is truly one of the greatest forms of entertainment - it has it all: brilliant music, glorious voices, wonderful stories, dramatic staging, fantastic sets and colorful costumes."
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Henry AkinaGeneral and Artistic Director Henry Akina is the first Hawaiian born General and Artistic Director of Hawaii Opera Theatre and has served in this capacity since 1996. Prior to 1996 he was the principal Stage Director and manager of the Berlin Chamber Opera, a company he founded in Berlin, Germany in 1981. In demand internationally as a stage director, Mr. Akina has directed opera for companies in Germany, Hungary, France, China, Thailand, the continental U.S., and Canada. At HOT, he has staged the Hawaii premieres of Macbeth, Elektra, Tristan and Isolde, Il Trittico, and last season’s Don Carlo. He has also staged acclaimed productions of Madama Butterfly (1993), Tosca, The Tales of Hoffman, Salome, The Flying Dutchman, Turandot and La Bohème for the company. Current projects at HOT include A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO.Mr. Akina was educated at Punahou School, Tufts University and The Free University of Berlin. He was a fellow of the Central Institute for Media and Technology, Karlsruhe in Germany and a guest member of the Faculty at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Mr Akina has participated extensively in the operatic training of young artists and founded the Mae z. Orvis Opera Studio at Hawaii Opera Theatre. He has taught masterclasses and workshops for young artists around the world. He has served as a regular panelist for the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. He was honored by Opera America in 2006 for his first ten years of service to Hawaii Opera Theatre and has also been honored by the National Society of Arts and Letters. © 2008 Hawaii Opera Theatre |