Artistic Director

For the past twenty-five years, Curtis (Curt) Tucker has inspired exemplary operatic performance, awareness, and education. He has done so as a singer, conductor, composer, artistic director, and producer.

As Artistic Director for Lake George Opera, Curt guides one of the leading summer opera festivals in the United States, where he has overseen the professional premiere of Ned Rorem's Our Town as the first of a multi-year series of performances by living American composers, expanded one of the oldest young artist training programs in the United States to include fully-staged performances, and strengthened the company's year-round presence and programming.

Curt's passion for the stage began when performing with the College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod, then as a young singer at Chautauqua Opera. He soon thereafter shifted his studies and training to conducting, and moved to California where he held regular and guest positions with Berkeley Opera, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of San Jose, San Francisco Chamber Singers, and Danville Congregational Church. Developing a special interest in arts policy and management, Curt completed law school in Boston, before relocating to southern Ohio, where for eight years he held various positions for Sorg Opera and Whitewater Opera, including Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for five seasons.

Also an accomplished composer, Curt's chamber opera The Stranger's Tale premiered in 2005 and was lauded by Opera News as 'a sincere humane tale...easily accessible [and] neatly effective...an immense hit with the audience.' He has composed numerous songs and choral works, and his stage works also include an original musical theater score for Pinocchio.

Curt has held artistic staff and guest artist positions with Cincinnati Opera, Syracuse Opera, and Mobile Opera, frequently adjudicates music and scholarship programs, and lectures on opera and related subjects.

Curt holds a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law, a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree, magna cum laude with Honors, from Central Methodist University. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Curt and his wife Cathy reside in upstate New York.