GENERAL & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CEO

Ian Campbell has been General Director and Artistic Director of San Diego Opera since 1983. Campbell was born in Australia, and is a graduate of the University of Sydney. He holds the two designations of Fellow, and Certified Professional Manager, from the Australian Institute of Management.

Campbell began his operatic career as a singer with The Australian Opera in 1967, moved into management with The Australia Council in 1974 and became General Manager of The State Opera of South Australia in Adelaide from 1976.

In 1982 he joined the Metropolitan Opera in New York as an Assistant Artistic Administrator, and in July 1983 came to San Diego Opera.

As a stage director his work includes La bohème and The Tales of Hoffman for The State Opera of South Australia; Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci for Santa Barbara Grand Opera; Falstaff, Il trovatore, Tosca, Katya Kabanova, La traviata, La bohème and Don Quixote for San Diego Opera.

Campbell is a past Chairman of Opera America, and locally has been a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau and an Advisory Council Member of the San Diego-Tijuana Sister Cities Society.

For 20 years Campbell produced and hosted programs on San Diego radio. In 2003 his program At the Opera with Ian Campbell was awarded both First Place for a Radio Series and Best of Show for Radio by the San Diego Press Club.