Cory Lippiello joins Austin Opera as Chief Producing Officer

Austin Opera today announced the appointment of Cory Lippiello as its new Chief Producing Officer, a key executive leadership position responsible for overseeing the company's Artistic and Production departments. A widely respected leader in the opera field with more than 25 years of experience in artistic administration, casting, production, and strategic planning, Lippiello joins Austin Opera this fall following an accomplished stint with Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she served as Director of Artistic Programs.

In her new role, Lippiello will lead Austin Opera's artistic planning and season programming at  Austin Opera’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Performance Center and the Long Center, working closely with General Director & CEO Annie Burridge to shape the company's long-term artistic vision while ensuring operational excellence on and off the stage. In collaboration with Music Director Timothy Myers, Director of Production Vince Herod, and Curator for Latinx and Hispanic Programming and Artistic Administrator Claudia Chapa, she will lead cross-departmental collaboration and the execution of the company’s growing artistic programming.

Lippiello arrives in Austin after more than a decade with Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the world's leading opera companies. During her tenure, she played an integral role in principal artist casting and producing for the company's internationally acclaimed opera and musical theater productions, adventurous interdisciplinary commissions, and community engagement programming. She also produced several acclaimed filmed productions and digital performances during the pandemic, helping sustain artistic engagement during a transformative period for the field. She won an Emmy Award for producing the company’s 2021 film of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, starring Russell Thomas and Ailyn Pérez.

Prior to joining Lyric in 2015, Lippiello served as Director of Artistic Planning for The Atlanta Opera following a decade as Artistic Administrator for New York City Opera. Her career also includes leadership and artistic positions with Wolf Trap Opera, the New York Philharmonic, IMG Artists, OPERA America, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The first casting director from the opera world elected to the Casting Society of America, she is a frequent speaker and mentor and has served as an adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and as a grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a graduate of Vassar College.

"Cory is one of the most admired artistic administrators in American opera, and I have long respected both her extraordinary breadth of experience and her thoughtful, collaborative leadership," said Annie Burridge, General Director & CEO of Austin Opera. "She has earned the trust of artists, directors, conductors, designers, and colleagues throughout the industry because she combines impeccable artistic judgment with genuine warmth, curiosity, and integrity. As Austin Opera continues its trajectory, bringing together our artistic and production teams under Cory's leadership positions us to dream even bigger, work even more collaboratively, and deliver exceptional experiences for our audiences. We are absolutely delighted to welcome her to Austin."

Lippiello said Austin Opera's artistic momentum and reputation for innovation made the opportunity especially compelling.

“At a moment of profound change and possibility for our field, Austin Opera is leading with creativity, ambition, and purpose,” said Lippiello. “The new Butler Performance Center gives us even more freedom to imagine the kinds of work we can make, and I’m especially excited by the creative challenge of exploring all that this modern opera company can be for the many audiences it serves. The opportunity to do that in the Live Music Capital of the World, drawing on Austin’s extraordinary diversity of music, artists, and performers is all the more thrilling. I am honored to join Annie and Tim and this exceptional team to help shape the company’s next chapter alongside the remarkable artists, artisans, staff, and supporters who make its work possible.”

The creation of the Chief Producing Officer position reflects Austin Opera's continued investment in organizational excellence as the company expands its artistic impact, strengthens its national profile, and advances its long-term strategic vision. The 2026-2027 season begins in October with the company’s first world premiere commission, Ofrenda, with music by Jorge Sosa and a libretto by John de los Santos. The 90-minute chamber opera performed in English and Spanish will open the company’s new Sarah & Ernest Butler Performance Center, bringing year-round community-centric programming to the city. The season continues with three additional productions at the Long Center for the Performing Arts: an epic staging of Jules Massenet’s Thaïs (November 13 & 15) starring soprano Nicole Heaston in the title role; the Texas premiere of the renowned love story Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce (February 6-7); and Verdi’s timeless La traviata (April 18, 22 & 24, 2027) starring soprano Sara Gartland and tenor Kameron Lopreore as doomed lovers Violetta and Alfredo.