Armfield is co-artistic director of the Adelaide Festival, 2017-19. An officer of the Order of Australia for his service to the arts, Armfield is the recipient of ten prestigious Helpmann Awards for Best Director, and honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of Sydney and New South Wales. Among the films he has directed are Holding the Man (2015) and Candy (2006, starring Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, and Geoffrey Rush). Also a celebrated director of theater, Armfield was cofounder and for 17 years inaugural artistic director of Sydney’s acclaimed Belvoir Theatre, working regularly with many of Australia’s greatest actors, including Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett, and Hugo Weaving ( Hamlet, The Alchemist, Waiting for Godot, Cloudstreet, The Tempest, The Seagull, Exit the King – the latter also on Broadway, earning Geoffrey Rush the 2009 Tony Award).

The Australian director has created productions for many opera companies internationally, including Welsh National Opera ( Ariadne auf Naxos, Billy Budd, The Marriage of Figaro), Canadian Opera Company ( Peter Grimes), the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ( Sweeney Todd), English National Opera ( Billy Budd, Il prigioniero), Washington National Opera ( Tristan und Isolde), Houston Grand Opera (Britten cycle) and Opera Australia ( Ring cycle, Britten and Janáček cycles).

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