Kico Gonzalez-Risso

A playwright, director and translator who is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kico Gonzalez-Risso has had his plays produced at various theatres, including The Arts Club, Waterfront Theatre, Richmond Gateway Theatre, Calgary's Lunchbox Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects and Calgary Opera Association. In 1993 Kico was invited to be Assistant Director at San Diego's prestigious Old Globe Theatre.

Selected directing credits include various classics such as THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, TWELFTH NIGHT, AS YOU LIKE IT; Moliere's DOM JUAN; Feydeau's 13 RUE DE L'AMOUR; Calderon's LIFE IS A DREAM and Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA. He also directed Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE for Western Washington University and Menotti's THE TELEPHONE for Northwest Opera. In 1994 Kico directed his translation of Lope de Vega's classic comedy DOG IN THE MANGER for the International Siglo de Oro (Golden Age) Theatre Festival in El Paso, Texas.  He has also introduced the work of Latin American playwrights such as Jorge Diaz, Egon Wolff, Osvaldo Dragun, Rodolfo Usigli and Eduardo Manet to Canadian audiences, as well as mounting Canadian premieres by other foreign writers such as Pavel Kohout, Vazlav Havel and Roberto Cossa.

Kico's English version of THE MAGIC FLUTE was broadcast on CBC's SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA.  In the past few seasons it has been produced by Lancaster Opera in Pennsylvania, heartland Opera Theater in Missouri and at the Maryland Arts Festival.  He also directed his play, HARP & SOLO (a monologue featuring acclaimed harpist Rita Costanzi) for Vancouver's prestigious Music in the Morning series. Other opera directing credits include Bizet's DOCTOR MIRACLE and Menotti's THE TELEPHONE for Opera Breve, and his translation of Donizetti's DON PASQUALE for Burnaby Lyric Opera. He also directed COSI FAN TUTTE for Portland State University Opera, and Benjamin Britten's CURLEW RIVER for Festival Vancouver, starring Canadian tenor Benjamin Butterfield and baritone Mark Pedrotti, under the musical direction of Bruce Pullan.  He wrote the text for a song cycle called O, SISTER broadcast recently on CBC, as well as directing two chamber operas for The Little Chamber Music Series - MISS DONNITHORNE'S MAGGOT and EIGHT SONGS FOR A MAD KING starring Richard Armstrong.  Kico wrote and directed three Art Song musicals for Festival Vancouver featuring mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell.  Collaborating with Japanese composer Koji Nakano, Kico wrote BRUSH, a chamber opera about Francisco Goya which was premiered in Toronto in 2004 by Tapestry New Opera Works, and then produced in Vancouver by The Little Chamber Music Series.  He also wrote a "radio cabaret" called GHOSTS IN LOVE (with new music from eight Canadian composers) performed at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.  His new piece, A SCORE TO SETTLE, a one-woman musical with a score by Rita Costanzi, was premiered in 2007 by Festival Vancouver.  Kico was the recipient of a 2004 Opera Canada Creation Award.

Kico Gonzalez-Risso is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Opera Canada, and the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers of Canada.