James Meena

Opera Carolina general director and principal conductor James Meena consistently receives critical and public praise for his performances. He has a special passion for the music of Verdi, having conducted acclaimed performances of Verdi’s Falstaff, La traviata, Macbeth, Nabucco, Aïda, Rigoletto, and Il trovatore. Maestro Meena has conducted such luminaries as James McCracken, Mignon Dunn, Marilyn Horne, Jerome Hines, Renee Fleming, Denyce Graves, Jerry Hadley, Mark Delavan and Marcello Giordani. Conducting highlights of recent seasons include a new production of Le nozze di Figarofor L’Opera de Montreal, Nabucco, La bohème, Macbeth and Samson et Dalilah for Opera Carolina, and performances of Stravinsky’s tour de force, Le Sacre du Printemps, with the National Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Meena has appeared as guest conductor with orchestras and opera companies in the United States and Italy, the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, the Orchestra Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, the Washington Opera, and Opera Pacific. Mr. Meena has served as an assistant conductor to Andre Previn, Gunther Schuller, Michael Tilson Thomas, Anton Guadagno, and Anton Coppola.