Acclaimed stage director, Joseph Bascetta, is recognized for his high artistic standards and insightful direction. In 1999, he aided in establishing the Fresno International Grand Opera, featuring Maria Spacagna as Madama Butterfly in the company’s opening production. He was then appointed Artistic Director, and subsequently has directed the company’s productions including Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, Tosca, La Traviata, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Gianni Schicchi/I Pagliacci, Turandot, and South Pacific with pop/broadway star Deborah Gibson, among many others productions. Next, he directs Tosca at the Mobile Opera and Pirates of Penzance at Fresno Grand Opera.

In the 2009-2010 season, he directed Macbeth at Opera Lyra Ottawa, Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera in Phoenix, La Bohème at the Syracuse Opera, and Fresno Grand Opera’s productions of Rigoletto and Macbeth. In the recent 2008-2009 season, he directed Il Trovatore with Indianapolis Opera, La Bohème and Faust at Fresno Grand Opera, and Eugene Onegin at Opera Lyra Ottawa. In the 2007-2008 season, he directed La Bohème with Opera Columbus, La Traviata with Mobile Opera, and La Bohème with Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, La Traviata with Opera Lyra Ottawa, and Fresno’s productions of Porgy and Bess and Madama Butterfly.

Additional recent engagements in North America include Aida with Opera Columbus; La Bohème for Opera Lyra Ottawa and Mobile Opera; Tosca and Madama Butterflyfor Mississippi Opera; Die Fledermaus for Gold Coast Opera; Tosca forProvidence Opera, Piedmont Opera, andat the Boston Academy of Music; Turandot for Tulsa Opera; Faust for the Connecticut Opera; Madama Butterfly for Virginia Opera; and La Bohème and Faust for Dayton Opera. He received great acclaim for his production of Porgy & Bessat Toledo Opera, where he has also directed Carmen, Gianni Schicchi, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. At Hawaii Opera Theatre, he has directed La Traviata, Turandot, Aida and La Bohème.

International career highlights include Un Ballo in Maschera at the Astra Theater in Malta, and an outdoor Turandot for the prestigious Pula Opera Festival in Croatia, Otello for the Taipei Music Festival at the National Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan, and a captivating production of La Sonnambula with world famous bass, Bonaldo Giaiotti at the Festival de Opera in Tenerife, Spain. A frequent guest of Asia’s leading opera festivals, Mr. Bascetta debuted with the Singapore Lyric Theatre directing Faust, debuted in Seoul Korea at the Kim Cha Kyung Opera for an outdoor spectacular of Carmen in Seoul’s Olympic Park, Rigoletto for the National Theater of Taipei, and Cavalleria Rusticana in Shanghai, China at the new international Opera House. Mr. Bascetta also made his debut in Malta as artistic advisor and stage director for Macbeth, and subsequently returned for productions of Rigoletto, Aida, and La Gioconda with star Ghena Dimetrova.

Mr. Bascetta began his career in New York City where he received the coveted Show Business Award for Best Director of the Year for his direction of Floyd’s Susannahand Ward’s The Crucible. His background includes training with the Royal Shakespeare Company of London, dance and performance training in vocal and choral technique, experience as a music educator, and intensive study of Stanislavsky acting technique with Stellar Adler. Mr. Bascetta has studied with renowned Opera Director Frank Corsaro and established the Opera Studio of New York for the purpose of bringing the acting values of Stanislavsky and Actors Studio to Opera. Additional international credits include American representative and acting teacher for the International Opera School of the Societa dei Concerti in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy and the acting teacher for A.I.M.S. in Graz, Austria.  Mr. Bascetta has been the Artistic Director of the Berkshire Opera, the Ontario Opera, and the Capital Artistic Opera Company.