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Cori Ellison, a leading creative figure in the opera world, is the Dramaturg for Santa Fe Opera. Previously, she has served as staff Dramaturg at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and New York City Opera.  Active in developing contemporary opera, she teaches dramaturgy for American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program, and was the first dramaturg invited to participate in the Yale Institute for Music Theatre.  At New York City Opera she was a curator of the annual VOX American Opera Showcase and co-founded and led City Opera’s ‘Words First’ program for the development of opera librettists.  In addition, she is a sought-after dramaturgical consultant to numerous composers, librettists, and commissioners, including Glyndebourne, Canadian Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Fort Worth Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Beth Morrison Projects. 

She is a member of the Vocal Arts Faculty at the Juilliard School and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and has taught and lectured for schools, performance venues, and media outlets worldwide.  She creates supertitles for opera companies across the English-speaking world, and helped launch Met Titles, the Met’s simultaneous translation system.  Her English singing translations include Hansel and Gretel (NYCO), La vestale (English National Opera) and Shostakovich’s Cherry Tree Towers (Bard Summerscape). She has often written for the New York Times, and has contributed to books including The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.