A.J. Wester - Stage director.   Ms. Wester returns from St. Petersburg Florida after having directed their season opener of A Little Night Music  Ms. Wester has developed a strong relationship with The St. Petersburg Opera in Florida.  She began with their  2009 spring production of La Traviata and the Fall Production of  Into the Woods to rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. Ms. Wester also returns from the Bay View Music Festival where she led their summer production of The Magic Flute.   Ms Wester has also led productions for Intimate Opera (La Traviata and Cosí fan Tutte) and Opera Company Brooklyn (Roméo et Juliette).  Ms. Wester was the Stage Director/Vocal Coach for Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Chicago Opera Theater for Teens' – a paid apprenticeship program sponsored by the City of Chicago with Chicago Opera Theater.  She was also the Stage Director of the Summer Musical Theater Workshop with Light Opera Works for four seasons.  Ms. Wester has been an Assistant Director for Chicago Opera Theater, Utah Opera, Indianapolis Opera and San Diego Opera.  As a classical singer, Ms. Wester was a Studio Artist with Utah Opera. She has also appeared as a featured soloist in the Welcome Yule Christmas concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dabeeb in the North American Premiere of Marriages between Zones 3, 4 and 5 by Phillip Glass as well as productions with Chicago Opera Theater, Court Theater, DePaul Opera Theater, Intermezzo Opera in Hartford, CT, American Opera Group, Elgin Opera and multiple productions with Light Opera Works in Evanston, IL.  Ms. Wester holds a B.Mus. from Roosevelt University and an M.Mus from DePaul University.

"I've been covering the performing arts for the St. Petersburg Times since 1991, and this is the first top-level local production of Sondheim I've seen here." - John Flemming, St. Petersburg Times (Blog September 12, 2009)

“A.J. Wester’s direction was most effective in big numbers, such as the divine Act I finale, A Weekend in the Country” - John Flemming, St. Petersburg Times (September 19, 2010)

"This was St. Petersburg Opera's best adaptation to the odd staging necessary in the old church"  - John Flemming, St. Petersburg Times (June 7, 2009)

"Fortunately, director A.J. Wester kept the pacing brisk, and in something of a surprise, the second act (generally considered problematic) was an improvement over Act 1." - John Flemming, St. Petersburg Times (September 13, 2009)

“The imaginative director A.J. Wester…” – Mary Jane Doerr, The Petosky News Review (July 23, 2010)