Douglas Nagel is currently the Artistic Director of both Rimrock Opera in Billings Montana and Opera Idaho in Boise. He was engaged in Billings three years ago and has been with Opera Idaho two seasons already.

He made his directing debut at 21. After receiving his Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Mr. Nagel joined the faculty at California State University, Hayward. As Opera Director, he produced, directed and often conducted. His projects have included Die Fledermaus, The Tales of Hoffmann, Gigi, Pajama Game, The Pirates of Penzance, Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, A Hand of Bridge, L'Egisto, Riders to the Sea, The Magic Flute, The Scarf, The Telephone, The Impresario and L'Ormindo. While in Hayward, he began a Summer Opera Theater Program which included over 50 singers. Also, Mr. Nagel was in residence through the Opera Theater Department at Idaho State University, Pocatello in March 2001.

Mr. Nagel takes great pride in bringing opera to children. He is adept at preparing abridged operas for school tours. Some of those operas include The Tales of Hoffmann, Die Fledermaus, Trouble in Tahiti, Hansel and Gretel, The Impresario and The Magic Flute. Mr. Nagel's production of The Telephone at Rogue Opera (Oregon) was so successful that an additional week was added to the tour, reaching over 15,000 children. Opera Idaho's fully staged production of The Magic Flute by Mr. Nagel toured the state in 1999. He received a grant from the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts to produce Let's Make an Opera at Kerns-St. Ann's Middle School in Salt Lake City.

When Mr. Nagel debuted with the Rogue Opera (Medford, Oregon) in Trouble in Tahiti as the character Ben and stage director, he was invited to produce their next season's Die Fledermaus. After selling out houses and heralded as a "must see" by the press, Mr. Nagel was appointed the company's Artistic Director - a position he held for four seasons.

Mr. Nagel became the Artistic Director for Rimrock Opera (Billings, Montana) in January 2000. He has recently directed Madame Butterfly for both Rimrock Opera and Sacramento Opera (February, 2001).

This past season productions have included Carmen and Tosca (he also sang the role of Scarpia). Two years ago, they completed a successful run of Don Pasquale. This past February marked a production of Madame Butterfly.

Future productions at Rimrock Opera include Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Hansel and Gretel and a world premiere of Nosferatu (Dracula) by California composer Alva Henderson. Future productions for Opera Idaho include performances of Nosferatu in 2004, along with other repertoire soon to be announced.