Shayna Leahy currently serves as the Artistic Administrator for HPAF after spending two summers as the Director of Production. She returned to Bryant Park with New York City Opera this season, directing their production of Lucia di Lammermoor for the Picnic Performances series after previously directing the 2018 Il Barbiere di Siviglia. She has worked extensively with Wichita Grand Opera, having previously directed productions of Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, Otello, Il Trovatore, and Aida for them. Her productions are hailed as being “deeply felt, and deeply moving” with emphasis on “fine acting as well as strong singing” (Wichita Eagle). Her work has been featured on Kansas Public TV. She has also served as Assistant Director of Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance Program in New York, was faculty for the Opera Academy of the Midwest, and is currently the Director of Vocal Music at Highland Community College, where she has led a nationally-recognized opera education initiative in collaboration with Wichita Grand Opera. Her productions at HCC have been Region V finalists in KCACTF, and she received the Region V KCACTF Outstanding Music Director award for her work on Rent. In addition, she has coached and music directed multiple students who have received national KCACTF awards for Distinguished Performance in a Musical.
