Irina Brook is an Anglo-French theatre and opera director known for her work in both classical and contemporary productions.

Personal life

Born in Paris to director

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

and actress

Natasha Parry Natasha Parry (2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress of Russian descent. The daughter of film director Gordon Parry, she was married to theatre director Peter Brook from 1951 until her death, and is the mother of filmmakers ...

, she was educated between England and France before moving to New York to study acting with

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. A member of Yiddish Theater's Adler dynasty, Adler began acting at a young age. She shifted to producing, directing, and teaching, founding the ...

, making her stage debut in

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions.

Career

Brook’s recognition as a theatre director came in London in 1996 with ‘Beast on the Moon’ at the

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in Theater, theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a ...

. She directed productions of ‘Mrs Klein’ at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

and ‘ All’s Well that Ends Well’ at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

before establishing herself in Paris with her French adaptation of ‘Beast on the Moon’, which won five

Molière Awards Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

, including Best Director and Best Play. Her opera career began directing Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte’ for the Nederlandse Reisopera. She has since directed a range of operatic works at major opera houses around the world, including Tchaikovsky’s ‘ Yevgeny Onegin’, Rossini’s ‘

La Cenerentola ("Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant") is an operatic in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' with music by Nico ...

’ and Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’. Her work at Teatro La Scala in Milan includes ‘ Die Sieben Todsünden’, ‘La Rodine’ and ‘

Il Matrimonio Segreto ' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play '' The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed ...

’. In 2003 she formed Irina’s Dream Theatre Company, through which she toured globally with productions of Brecht’s ‘Der Gute Mensch von Sezuan’, Marivaux’s ‘L’Île des Esclaves’ and ‘

A Midsummer Night’s Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves ...

’ internationally. Her work at major festivals includes the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conc ...

, and her production ''The Island Trilogy'', which toured internationally. From 2014-2021, she was the first female Director of the Théâtre National de Nice, where she produced, curated and directed the theatre’s programme. Her work in theatre and opera has been recognised with several awards, including the ‘Chevalier and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’, the ‘

Molière Award The Les Molière is the national theatre award of France and it recognises achievement of French theatre each year. The awards are considered the highest honour for productions and performances. Presided and decided by the ''Association profess ...

’ for Best Director & Best Play and in 2023 the ‘Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’.

Theatre

Opera

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Irina Living people British theatre directors Actresses from Paris French stage actresses French film actresses French television actresses French theatre directors English stage actresses English film actresses English television actresses French women theatre directors British women theatre directors Women arts administrators Women theatre managers and producers 1962 births French people of Jewish descent British people of Latvian-Jewish descent Brook family People educated at Bedales School