Meet Leonard Prinsloo

Leonard C. Prinsloo – Stage Director, Choreographer, and University Lecturer, was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and currently lives in Vienna.

After completing his schooling at the Pretoria School of Art, Music, and Ballet, he studied music at the University of Pretoria, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. He then furthered his studies at the University of Witwatersrand, where he attained a Master of Music degree. In addition to his music studies, Leonard qualified as a ballet dancer and was a member of the P.A.C.T Ballet Company for several years.

While dancing with the ballet company, Leonard became the resident choreographer for the Opera Company, staging several dance scenes in operas by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and others. To deepen his knowledge in directing, he became an observer assistant at the Cologne Opera House, learning from directors such as Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Harry Kupfer, and Götz Friedrich. Harry Kupfer invited him to choreograph the "Dance of the Seven Veils" in a production of Salome at the Opera House in Amsterdam.

Following this, Prinsloo became an assistant director at the Opera House in Augsburg, where he had the opportunity to direct several operas, including Otello*(Verdi) and The Rape of Lucretia (Britten). In 1993, the State Opera in Vienna engaged Leonard as an Assistant Director (Abendspielleiter), where he worked with some of the greatest singers and conductors in the circuit.

In 1995, he directed Der stumme Büßer - Bruder Boleslav (Kaufmann) for the Taschenoper Company in Vienna. At this point, he decided to become a freelance director and choreographer. Since then, he has worked for numerous opera houses in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and Austria, directing and choreographing classical operas, modern operas, operettas, and musicals, including several world premieres.

In 2014, he was appointed Resident Director for the Léhar Festival Operetta Company in Bad Ischl. Here, he has staged and choreographed Walzertraum (O. Straus), Eva (Lehár), Fatinitza (Suppé), Der Zarewitsch (Lehár), Das Land des Lächelns (Lehár), Paganini (Lehár), Zigeunerliebe(Lehár), Wo die Lerche singt (Lehár) Die Kaiserin (Fall). Die Ungarische Hochzeit (Dostal), Die Rose von Stambul (Fall) and Die lustige Witwe (Lehár).

He also directed Die Fledermaus (Strauss) for Klangboden Wien, staged in front of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. He was invited to direct the production of *Casino* by Peter Turrini at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

Subsequently, he has directed nearly 70 productions in various opera houses across Europe and Asia. For the Daegu Festival in South Korea, he staged Die lustige Witwe (Lehár). His production of Punch and Judy (Birtwistle) won an international festival in Hungary, and as part of the Mörbisch Operetta Festival, he staged a production of Das Land des Lächelns (Lehár) under the artistic direction of Peter Edelmann.

In Bad Ischl, he was instrumental in forming the youth project Etterepo, later renamed JuMuT (Jugend, Musik und Theater). This project gave children aged 8 to 16 the opportunity to perform scenes they created themselves onstage under his guidance. This project ran annually for 16 years and garnered national attention.

Leonard was invited to direct a production of The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky) for MUK (Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna) and was later appointed as a lecturer at the university. After directing a production of Falstaff for MDW (The University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna), he was also appointed as a lecturer there.

He recently staged a production of Orfeo ed Euridice in Las Palmas. In association with Sylvia Saavedra-Edelmann, he formed a small opera group, Plus Opera, which provides young singers the opportunity to perform full operas, operettas, and musicals. (www.plusopera.com)

Appointed as resident director at the opera house in Baden, Austria, he has staged many operettas by leading composers such as Kálmán, Lehár, and Suppé, as well as musicals like Bonnie and Clyde, La Cage aux Folles, and Cabaret. In 2024, he successfully staged the musical Titanic by Yeston.

He recently directed the highly acclaimed production of 1000 Nights (Johann Strauss Jr.) at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre in Lithuania. Following this success, he was invited to stage Tosca for the Klosterneuburg Opera Festival, which also received widespread critical praise.