The Mannes School of Music has appointed Emma Griffin as the new Managing Artistic Director of the Mannes Opera.

She will succeed Joseph Colaneri, who stepped down after a 20-year tenure. The announcement comes after a worldwide search for a successor to Colaneri.

Per the school’s official website, she will serve as both artistic and administrative leader for the Mannes Opera and also serve as Associate Professor of Music. She will be charged with leading the academic and artistic areas of opera at the school, including its curriculum development, program development, stage direction, and teaching.

“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty at Mannes School of Music. Mannes has a rich history of commitment to craft and artistry. It’s a dynamic training program with real impact on the profession,” Griffin stated. “To be chosen to lead this remarkable community of students and faculty is an honor. I know that together we will grow the next generation of vibrant, engaged and significant opera artists for the 21st century.”

“We are ecstatic about Emma Griffin joining our creative community,” added Dean Richard Kessler. “Emma is an innovative and inspiring artistic leader who has a rare ability to breathe life and creative vision into this vitally important art form. She has a big appetite for the span of operatic repertoire from Lully to David T. Little and as an educator, she has an exemplary track record in training young opera singers. I have no doubt that Emma’s star will shine bright here at The New School.”

Griffin’s resume includes work with such companies as Opera Colorado,  Boston Lyric Opera, Juilliard Opera, and Opera Philadelphia/Curtis Opera Theater. She has also been a faculty member at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has worked with students SUNY Stonybrook, Webster University, Bard College, Juilliard, and the Curtis Institute of Music. She also worked at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where she has served as Professor of Opera Stage Direction since 2014.