Artistic Director, Stage Director
OPERA
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Skylight Music Theatre
"Toscas’ lighthearted comedy… is stylishly inspired with a dichotomous approach that manages to be both retro and progressive—reverent and irreverent. Purists aside, this production has an opportunity to fuse traditional audiences with a newer crowd in a way that (other) productions could not have achieved."
-Russ Bickerstaff, ExpressMilwaukee.com
Skylight Music Theatre
Drama reigns in ‘La Traviata’: Electrifying!
"This is an opera that you might even catch a non-opera-lover liking. Kudos to director Dimitri Toscas for his masterful direction. It’s electrifying, it’s mod, it’s beautiful, it’s funky… it ranks as one of The Skylight’s best productions ever!"
-Julie McHale TimeOut
Piedmont Opera, Winston-Salem NC
The goal was to celebrate LIFE. Not to just throw the story of a frail woman’s tragedy and death onto the stage. Everything needed to center itself on these characters, these real people squeezing the most they could out of the short time they had together, living as friends – as a new community. Not only did this give the audience a fresh look at one of opera’s most-beloved works, but this La Boheme also became a huge critical success.
HMS PINAFORE
stage direction/choreography
Muddy River Opera, IL
St Ambrose University, IA
Man of La Mancha
Assistant Director
Skylight Music Theatre
Under the direction of Dorothy Danner, responsibilities included all aspects of production, both creative and practical. This production was a most satisfying collaboration, a unique and innovative approach to a traditional piece of American Musical Theatre, retelling the familiar story using an "operatic" style on a modern set with projections and creative theatrical devices.
Sweeney Todd
Assistant Director
Cleveland Opera
TOP TEN ARTS EVENTS OF 2004 for Cleveland, Ohio: Sweeney Todd, under the direction of Bill Theisen, was both a dream and a personal achievement. Sung in glorious operatic voice yet approached in a story-driven "musical theater" style, Sweeney Todd was both entertaining and haunting. Responsibilities included creative input in all aspects of production: assisting in rehearsals, participating in lighting and set design, musical rehearsals, ensemble preparation and special "blood" effects.
Assistant Director
Virginia Opera
Again under the direction of Dorothy Danner, responsibilities included all aspects of production: thinking "out of the box," we reinvented a traditional set into a modern expression of drama. Having a significant creative input with lights, effects and set design made this production exceptionally satisfying artistically.
Orlando Opera
Assistant to the Director
Education Department
Resident Artist
Besides performing as a "Resident Artist" at Orlando Opera for five years, Dimitri also assisted Robin Jensen in designing and producing the Educational programming that accompanied the touring Opera Education performances (directed by Alan Bruun). Responsibilities included: assisting with Opera Productions (including input in writing and editing scripts and scores), Opera Workshops (interactive educational seminars), and creating innovative OPERApacs (educational material that carried the themes of the opera into a cross-curriculum program for K-8 grades).