Call for Directors and Music Directors
APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN ON FEBRUARY 1 AND CLOSE ON MARCH 1
For our 2026-2027 season, the Victorian Lyric Opera Company will be presenting “Haddon Hall”, “The Merry Widow”, and “Pirates of Penzance”. All performances will be held at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, Rockville MD.
Individuals interested in directing for VLOC this coming season will be able to fill out an online application starting on February 1st. An application should include the filled out form, your resume and a cover letter indicating the show(s) and positions for which you would like to be considered. Prospective stage directors should also prepare a one-page treatment for the production.
We plan to schedule interviews with the Artistic Committee of the VLOC board in March. Thank you for your interest in working with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company.
Individuals interested in directing for VLOC this coming season will be able to fill out an online application starting on February 1st. An application should include the filled out form, your resume and a cover letter indicating the show(s) and positions for which you would like to be considered. Prospective stage directors should also prepare a one-page treatment for the production.
We plan to schedule interviews with the Artistic Committee of the VLOC board in March. Thank you for your interest in working with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company.
"Haddon Hall " by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sydney Grundy
(Concert production, semi-staged with the orchestra on stage)
Performances at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater, September 4-6, 2026 (subject to change)
Stage Director $500
(Music direction by Joseph Sorge)
Synopsis:
A light opera setting of Charles Major's novel Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall. Haddon Hall is a real place, and the marriage at the heart of the story did occur. The Elizabethan-era events have been moved in Grundy's libretto in the 17th century, framing the romance against the English Civil War.
The cast includes noble members of two neighboring households, their trusted companions, a Puritan suitor and his followers, a hard-drinking, flirtatious, Scottish missionary (who travels with his bagpipes) and the people of Haddon Hall and its nearby village. Sullivan's score is engaging, including lovely ballads, a couple of very fine choruses, a storm sequence, and a Scottish ballad. Also, perhaps the only operatic telling of the courtship of a doormouse and a snail.
Stage Director $500
(Music direction by Joseph Sorge)
Synopsis:
A light opera setting of Charles Major's novel Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall. Haddon Hall is a real place, and the marriage at the heart of the story did occur. The Elizabethan-era events have been moved in Grundy's libretto in the 17th century, framing the romance against the English Civil War.
The cast includes noble members of two neighboring households, their trusted companions, a Puritan suitor and his followers, a hard-drinking, flirtatious, Scottish missionary (who travels with his bagpipes) and the people of Haddon Hall and its nearby village. Sullivan's score is engaging, including lovely ballads, a couple of very fine choruses, a storm sequence, and a Scottish ballad. Also, perhaps the only operatic telling of the courtship of a doormouse and a snail.
"The Merry Widow " by Franz Lehar
(Fully staged)
Performances at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater, weekends February 26 – March 7, 2027 (subject to change)
Stage Director $1500
Assistant Stage Director $750
Assistant Music Director $750
(Music direction by Joseph Sorge)
Synopsis:
Among the most popular of operettas, this work features a sparkling, tuneful score, ranging from comic t rousing, to deeply romantic; it includes perennial favorites such as "I go out to Maxim's," "Vilia," The Merry Widow Waltz, and "Girls, Girls, Girls!"
The plot features encounters between former lovers, a new love triangle, and political and diplomatic shenanigans meant to keep the Widow and her enormous fortune from moving away from her impoverished homeland, Pontevedro. The characters include the wealthy Widow, her former love (now a diplomat,) and most of Pontevedro's power structure along with their wives and sweethearts, not to mention a flurry of can-can dancers.
Settings include an embassy ball, a garden party at a fancy villa, and a party themed to the famous Parisian nightspot, Maxim's. The score offers numerous opportunities for choreographers.
Stage Director $1500
Assistant Stage Director $750
Assistant Music Director $750
(Music direction by Joseph Sorge)
Synopsis:
Among the most popular of operettas, this work features a sparkling, tuneful score, ranging from comic t rousing, to deeply romantic; it includes perennial favorites such as "I go out to Maxim's," "Vilia," The Merry Widow Waltz, and "Girls, Girls, Girls!"
The plot features encounters between former lovers, a new love triangle, and political and diplomatic shenanigans meant to keep the Widow and her enormous fortune from moving away from her impoverished homeland, Pontevedro. The characters include the wealthy Widow, her former love (now a diplomat,) and most of Pontevedro's power structure along with their wives and sweethearts, not to mention a flurry of can-can dancers.
Settings include an embassy ball, a garden party at a fancy villa, and a party themed to the famous Parisian nightspot, Maxim's. The score offers numerous opportunities for choreographers.
"Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert & Sullivan
(Fully staged)
Performances at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater, weekends June 4-13, 2027 (subject to change)
Stage Director $1500
Assistant Stage Director $750
Music Director $1500
Assistant Music Director $750
Synopsis:
Probably the best-known and most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, the Pirates score swashes and buckles its way from one hit to the next - Poor Wandering One, With Cat-like Tread, Hail Poetry, and A Policeman's Lot are just a few of them.
The plot concerns a "rollicking band of pirates" who are celebrating their apprentice's coming of age. Young Frederick announces he is leaving piracy, to which he wasn't intended to be apprenticed, anyway. The pirates' secret lair is invaded by a picnic of young ladies; romance and confusion ensue, involving prevarications, a ruined chapel, the local police, calendars, surprising revelations by Frederick's former nursemaid, and a couple of gloriously terrible jokes.
Settings are a rocky beach on the coast of Cornwall, and the ruins of a family chapel. There are a number of opportunities for choreography.
Stage Director $1500
Assistant Stage Director $750
Music Director $1500
Assistant Music Director $750
Synopsis:
Probably the best-known and most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, the Pirates score swashes and buckles its way from one hit to the next - Poor Wandering One, With Cat-like Tread, Hail Poetry, and A Policeman's Lot are just a few of them.
The plot concerns a "rollicking band of pirates" who are celebrating their apprentice's coming of age. Young Frederick announces he is leaving piracy, to which he wasn't intended to be apprenticed, anyway. The pirates' secret lair is invaded by a picnic of young ladies; romance and confusion ensue, involving prevarications, a ruined chapel, the local police, calendars, surprising revelations by Frederick's former nursemaid, and a couple of gloriously terrible jokes.
Settings are a rocky beach on the coast of Cornwall, and the ruins of a family chapel. There are a number of opportunities for choreography.
