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.
Productions
| TITLE | COMPOSER | COMPANY | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fairy Queen | Henry Purcell | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2016 | ||
| The Death of Klinghoffer | John Adams | Long Beach Opera | 2014 |
| Nixon in China | John Adams | ||
| Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1997 | ||
| Arena di Verona | 2008 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2010 | ||
| I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky | John Adams | Long Beach Opera | 2014 |
| Candide | Leonard Bernstein | Long Beach Opera | 2016 |
| The Second Mrs. Kong | Harrison Birtwistle | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1996 |
| Macbeth | Ernest Bloch | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2103 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2014 | ||
| Der Reigen | Philippe Boesmans | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1997 |
| Death in Venice | Benjamin Britten | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1994 |
| Marilyn Forever | Gavin Bryars | Long Beach Opera | 2015 |
| The Paper Nautilus | Gavin Bryars | Long Beach Opera | 2012 |
| Medea | Luigi Cherubini | Long Beach Opera | 2011 |
| The Invention of Morel | Stewart Copeland | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2017 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2018 | ||
| Tell Tale Heart | Stewart Copeland | Long Beach Opera | 2013 |
| The Lighthouse | Peter Maxwell Davies | Long Beach Opera | 2020 |
| The Central Park Five | Anthony Davis | Long Beach Opera | 2019 |
| Queenie Pie | Duke Ellington | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2014 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2014 | ||
| 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 |
| Hotel Of Dreams / The Sound Of A Voice | Philip Glass | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| Hydrogen Jukebox | Philip Glass | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2015 | ||
| The Fall Of The House Of Usher | Philip Glass | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2013 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2013 | ||
| The Perfect American | Philip Glass | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2017 | ||
| Ainadamar | Osvaldo Golijov | Long Beach Opera | 2012 |
| Orpheus and Euridice | Ricky Ian Gordon | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2008, 2010 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2013 | ||
| Van Gogh | Michael Gordon | Long Beach Opera | 2013 |
| A Coffin in Egypt | Ricky Ian Gordon | Chicago Opera Theater | 2015 |
| Frankenstein!! | Heinz K. Gruber | Long Beach Opera | 2008 |
| Semele | George Frederic Handel | Long Beach Opera | 2004 |
| The News | JacobTV | Long Beach Opera | 2016 |
| As One | Laura Kaminsky/Mark Campbell/Kimberly Reed | Long Beach Opera | 2017 |
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Robert Kurka | Long Beach Opera | 2010 |
| The Difficulty of Crossing a Field | David Lang | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2011 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2014 | ||
| King Gesar | Peter Lieberson | Long Beach Opera | 2103 |
| Le Grand Macabre | György Ligeti | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1994 |
| The Love Potion (Le Vin Herbé) | Frank Martin | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2016 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2018 | ||
| Tears of a Knife | Bohuslav Martinu | Long Beach Opera | 2012 |
| Malakut | Nader Mashayeki | Wien Modern | 1997 |
| The Consul | Gian Carlo Menotti | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2017 | ||
| Lucio Silla | Wolfgang A. Mozart | Chicago Opera Theater | 2015 |
| No Mozart | Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen, Arvo Pärt | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat | Michael Nyman | Long Beach Opera | 2012 |
| 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 | ||
| La Voix Humaine | Francis Poulenc | Long Beach Opera | 2016 |
| La Voix Humaine | Francis Poulenc | Chicago Opera Theater | 2016 |
| Les mamelles de Tirésias | Francis Poulenc | Long Beach Opera | 2010 |
| Gianni Schicchi | Giacomo Puccini | Chicago Opera Theater | 2016 |
| King Arthur - Redux | Henry Purcell | Long Beach Opera | 2020 |
| Das Schloss | Aribert Reimann | Wiener Operntheater, Vienna/Austria | 1996 |
| Frida | Robert Xavier Rodriguez | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2017 | ||
| Anchorage Opera | 2020 | ||
| Portland Opera | 2021 | ||
| Winterreise / Werther | Franz Schubert / J. W. von Goethe | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2005, 2007 | ||
| Austin Chamber Music Festival | 2008 | ||
| Moscow, Cherry Town | Dimitri Shostakovich | Long Beach Opera | 2011 |
| Fallujah | Tobin Stokes / Heather Raffo | ||
| New York City Opera | 2016 | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2016 | ||
| Die Schweigsame Frau (Silent Woman) | Richard Strauss | Long Beach Opera | 2004 |
| Enoch Arden | Richard Strauss | Long Beach Opera | 2008 |
| Salome | Richard Strauss | ||
| Austin Opera | 1999 | ||
| Opera Philadelphia | 2000 | ||
| An American Soldier's Tale | Igor Stravinsky | Long Beach Opera | 2014 |
| The Emperor Of Atlantis | Viktor Ullmann | ||
| Long Beach Opera | 2009 | ||
| Chicago Opera Theater | 2014 | ||
| Joan of Arc | Giuseppe Verdi | Chicago Opera Theater | 2012 |
| Montezuma | Antonio Vivaldi | Long Beach Opera | 2009 |
| The Ring of the Nibelung | Richard Wagner | Long Beach Opera | 2006 |
| The Threepenny Opera | Kurt Weill | Long Beach Opera | 2005 |