Irving Guttman

Irving (Allen) Guttman was born in Chatham, Ontario October 27 1928. After studies 1941-6 at Strathcona Academy in Montreal he attended the RCMT 1947-52. He was an assistant to Herman Geiger-Torel 1949-54 at the Opera Festival (COC). He made his directing debut in May of 1953 in Cornwall, Ont, with Menotti’s The Consul, for which his cast included the young Maureen Forrester. That same year he directed a complete Faust, the first of some 65 operatic programs for CBC TV. In 1956 he directed The Marriage of Figaro at the Montreal Festivals and in 1958 he made his US debut directing the Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights. Guttman became founding artistic director (1960-74) of the Vancouver Opera. For the Opera Guild of Montreal at Her Majesty’s Theatre and at PDA he produced seven productions of six operas between 1963 and 1969. His COC debut, La Traviata in 1964, led to seven productions of five operas by 1975. In 1965 Guttman became artistic director of the Edmonton Opera, a position he retained in 1991, when the Irving Guttman Young Artist Fund was established. That company’s 1983 production of Lohengrin marked the first time a western Canadian company had presented a major Wagnerian work with surtitles. He also produced Faust for Expo 67 . In 1974 he was appointed head of the opera school at the Courtenay Youth Music Centre. He became artistic director of the Manitoba Opera Association in 1977, although his association with the company dates from its first production in 1973. In 1988 Guttman helped train young singers from the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. He continues to be a major influence for opera in Canada.