Multi-gifted Mitisek, able to pull both directing and conducting out of his basket of tricks, directs the two with ample injections of commedia dell’arte, vaudeville and burlesque. Pantomime, dumb show, mask and puppetry are employed, along with speaking and choral speaking so compositionally integrated that they could have been germane, or have been borrowed by any number of performance traditions. These ample resources do much to lighten the load of an evening that includes the character of Death, imprisoned peasants, and blatantly celebrated misogyny.
Repertoire
| TITLE | COMPOSER | COMPANY | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Death of Klinghoffer | John Adams | Long Beach Opera | 2014 |
| I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky | John Adams | Long Beach Opera | 2014 |
| Nixon in China | John Adams | ||
| Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1997 | ||
| Arena di Verona | 2008 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2010 | ||
| Bluebeard's Castle | Béla Bartók | Long Beach Opera | 1999 |
| Jane Eyre | Michael Berkeley | Opera Theatre of Saint Louis | 2006 |
| The Second Mrs. Kong | Harrison Birtwistle | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1996 |
| Der Reigen | Philippe Boesmans | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1997 |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Benjamin Britten | Wiener Volksoper | 1998, 1999 |
| Death in Venice | Benjamin Britten | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1994 |
| The Imaginary Invalid | Marc Antoine Charpentier | Long Beach Opera | 1999 |
| Medea | Luigi Cherubini | Long Beach Opera | 2011 |
| Il matrimonio segreto | Domenico Cimarosa | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1991 |
| The Invention of Morel | Stewart Copeland | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2017 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2018 | ||
| The Tender Land | Aaron Copland | Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre | 2022 |
| Volo Di Notte | Luigi Dallapiccola | Long Beach Opera | 2000 |
| Oedipe | George Enescu | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1993 |
| The Diary Of Anne Frank | Grigori Frid | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2007, 2009 | ||
| Austin Chamber Music Festival | 2007 | ||
| Irvine Barclay Theater in Irvine | 2010 | ||
| Akhnaten | Philip Glass | Long Beach Opera | 2011 |
| The Perfect American | Philip Glass | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2017 | ||
| Hotel Of Dreams / The Sound Of A Voice | Philip Glass | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| The Fall Of The House Of Usher | Philip Glass | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2013 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2013 | ||
| Orfeo ed Euridice | Christoph Willibald Gluck | Komische Oper Berlin | 2000 |
| Faust | Charles Gounod | Austin Opera | 2001 |
| Frankenstein!! | Heinz K. Gruber | Long Beach Opera | 2008 |
| Giulio Cesare | George Frederic Handel | Wiener Musikverein | |
| Semele | George Frederic Handel | Long Beach Opera | 2004 |
| The News | JacobTV | Long Beach Opera | 2016 |
| Jenufa | Leoš Janáček | Long Beach Opera | 2002 |
| The Cunning little Vixen | Leoš Janáček | Long Beach Opera | 2009 |
| As One | Kaminsky/Campbell/Reed | ||
| Anchorage Opera | 2018 | ||
| Portland Opera | 2019 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| As One | Laura Kaminsky/Mark Campbell/Kimberly Reed | Long Beach Opera | 2017 |
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Robert Kurka | Long Beach Opera | 2010 |
| Countess Maritza | Franz Lehar | German Tour | |
| Giuditta | Franz Lehar | Wiener Volksoper | 1998 |
| Pagliacci | Ruggero Leoncavallo | Hawaii Opera Theater | 2001 |
| Le Grand Macabre | György Ligeti | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1994 |
| Tears of a Knife | Bohuslav Martinu | Long Beach Opera | 2012 |
| La Cavalleria Rusticana | Pietro Mascagni | Hawaii Opera Theater | 2001 |
| Malakut | Nader Mashayeki | Wien Modern | 1997 |
| Joruri | Minoru Miki | Tokyo Opera | 2006 |
| Der Bettelstudent | Carl Millöcker | German Tour | |
| Don Giovanni | Wolfgang A. Mozart | ||
| Seattle Opera | 2007 | ||
| Orlando Opera | |||
| Così fan tutte | Wolfgang A. Mozart | Seattle Opera | 2005 |
| Le Nozze di Figaro | W. A. Mozart | Bob Cole Conservatory of Music - Csulb | 2022 |
| Le nozze di Figaro | Wolfgang A. Mozart | ||
| Hawaii Opera Theater | 2001 | ||
| Yale Opera | |||
| The Abduction From the Seraglio | Wolfgang A. Mozart | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1999 |
| La Clemenza di Tito | Wolfgang A. Mozart | Wiener Konzerthaus | 1989 |
| No Mozart | Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen, Arvo Pärt | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| La Périchole | Jacques Offenbach | Long Beach Opera | 2003 |
| The Clever One | Carl Orff | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2009 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2014 | ||
| Camelia La Tejana: Only The Truth | Gabriela Ortiz | Long Beach Opera | 2013 |
| The Devils of Loudon | Kristof Penderecki | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1995 |
| Maria de Buenos Aires | Astor Piazzolla / Horacio Ferrer | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2012 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2013 | ||
| Thérèse Raquin | Tobias Picker | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2015 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2015 | ||
| Les mamelles de Tirésias | Francis Poulenc | Long Beach Opera | 2010 |
| Tosca | Giacomo Puccini | Orlando Opera | 2006 |
| Il Tabarro | Giacomo Puccini | Long Beach Opera | 2000 |
| Madama Butterfly | Giacomo Puccini | Orlando Opera | 2007 |
| The Indian Queen | Henry Purcell | Long Beach Opera | 1998 |
| King Arthur - Redux | Henry Purcell | Long Beach Opera | 2020 |
| Das Schloss | Aribert Reimann | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1996 |
| Il Signor Bruschino | Gioachino Rossini | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1993 |
| The Barber Of Seville | Gioachino Rossini | Wiener Neustadt Festival, Austria | 1988 |
| Moscow, Cherry Town | Dimitri Shostakovich | Long Beach Opera | 2011 |
| Salome | Richard Strauss | ||
| Austin Opera | 1999 | ||
| Opera Philadelphia | 2000 | ||
| Fledermaus | Johann Strauss | German Tour | 2001 |
| Die Schweigsame Frau (Silent Woman) | Richard Strauss | Long Beach Opera | 2004 |
| Elektra | Richard Strauss | Long Beach Opera | 2001 |
| Die Fledermaus | Johann Strauss | ||
| San Sebastian Festival, Spain | 1999 | ||
| Komische Oper Berlin | 1999, 2000 | ||
| La Orquesta Sinfónica de Valencia | 2004 | ||
| Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi | 2009 | ||
| The Rake's Progress | Igor Stravinsky | Vancouver Opera | 2001 |
| Eugene Onegin | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | ||
| Seattle Opera | 2002 | ||
| Teatro Municipal de Santiago | 2006 | ||
| The Emperor Of Atlantis | Viktor Ullmann | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2009 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2014 | ||
| Nabucco | Giuseppe Verdi | National Theatre Zagreb, Croatia | 1995 |
| La forza del destino | Giuseppe Verdi | Theater Würzburg | |
| Rigoletto | Giuseppe Verdi | Austin Opera | 2003 |
| Montezuma | Antonio Vivaldi | Long Beach Opera | 2009 |
| Lohengrin | Richard Wagner | German Tour | 2016 |
| The Ring of the Nibelung | Richard Wagner | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| Der Freischütz | Carl Maria von Weber | Seattle Opera | 1999 |
| The Threepenny Opera | Kurt Weill | Long Beach Opera | 2005 |