Bruce Beresford

director

“Bruce Beresford's production (Streetcar)…flavours the setting with a nod to a classic age of American drama while maintaining brutal immediacy.” 
Peter McCallum, The Sydney Morning Herald

Bruce Beresford was born in Sydney and graduated from Sydney University.  He worked for the British Film Institute and directed his first feature film, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, in the 1970s.   Since then, he has directed over 25 more feature films, including Breaker Morant, The Getting of Wisdom, Don’s Party, The Club, Puberty Blues, Tender Mercies, Crimes of the Heart, Driving Miss Daisy, Bride of the Wind, Paradise Road, Black Robe and Mao’s Last Dancer.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for the script of Breaker Morant and the direction of Tender Mercies.  Driving Miss Daisy won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1990.  Black Robe won the Canadian award for Best Film and Best Director in 1992.  In 2009, his feature film Mao's Last Dancer was nominated for nine AFI awards including Best Director.  Bruce has also directed a number of operas, including Rigoletto for Los Angeles Opera, La Fanciulla del West for the Spoleto Festival, Elektra for State Opera of South Australia, Sweeney Todd for Portland Opera, The Crucible for Washington Opera, Cold Sassy Tree for Houston Grand Opera and A Streetcar Named Desire and Korngold’s Die tote Stadt for Opera Australia.

Operaography:  

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Puccini): Directed for Spoleto Festival, Charleston (USA) & Spoleto (Italy), 1986

ELEKTRA (Richard Strauss): Directed for State Opera of South Australia, 1991

SWEENEY TODD (Sondheim): Directed for Portland Opera, 1996

THE CRUCIBLE (Robert Ward): Directed for Washington Opera, 1998

RIGOLETTO (Verdi): Directed for Los Angeles Opera, 2000

COLD SASSY TREE (Carlisle Floyd): Directed for Houston Grand Opera, 2000. Restaged for San Diego Opera, 2001

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (André Previn): Directed for Opera Australia, 2007. With Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Yvonne Kenny, Antoinette Halloran, Stuart Skelton

OF MICE AND MEN (Carlisle Floyd): Directed for Opera Australia, 2011. With Anthony Dean Griffey and Barry Ryan

DIE TOTE STADT (Korngold): Directed for Opera Australia, 2012. With Stefan Vinke, Cheryl Barker, Deborah Humble and José Carbó

ALBERT HERRING (Britten) Directed for Queensland Conservatorium of Music, 2016

OTELLO (Rossini) Directed for Melbourne Opera, 2018

MACBETH (Verdi) Directed for Melbourne Opera, 2021

Representation: World