Fenlon Lamb
Fenlon Lamb is an artistic director, educator, stage director, and producer of opera who champions alternative-medium design and ecologically sound production practices. She trains young singers and directors in both the academic and professional spheres.
Fenlon is the Director of Opera Studies and an Assistant Professor of Music at Texas State University. She builds acting skills and prepares young singers for graduate and professional auditions at Musiktheater Bavaria in the summer months. Fenlon was the Director of Opera at University of Missouri, KC Conservatory of Music and Dance (2015-2018) and Assistant Professor/Opera Director at Kent State University (2009-2011). She was the Director of Vocal and Opera Programming at The Bar Harbor Music Festival for eleven seasons (2008-2019).
Fenlon creates sets and costumes in paper and other eco-friendly materials with her artistic partner, Jefferson Ridenour, and their team of designers at Papermoon Opera Productions. In the last few seasons, Papermoon created inventive, new productions of Pirates of Penzance and Fanciulla del West for Central City Opera, The Juliet Letters with Portland Opera’s young artists, a colorful, commedia-meets-1980s production of Il barbieri di Siviglia with Amarillo Opera and Opera Delaware, and an intimate Werther for William Jewel College. Papermoon's production of La voix humaine received 1st Place in the National Opera Association competition. Their flagship production of Hänsel und Gretel has been remounted at Palm Beach Opera, Amarillo Opera, Bar Harbor Music Festival, Ball State University, and Missouri State University. Co-founded in 2018 after seeing the lack of truly affordable and imaginative sets available for smaller companies and academic institutions, Papermoon continues to innovate here at Texas State with sets and costumes available for use in our own community and the professional and academic opera industry at large.
Fenlon directs nationally lauded productions with opera companies and academic institutions across the US. A frequent collaborator with Arizona Opera, Fenlon directed the world premiere production of Riders of the Purple Sage and returned to the company for a "fantastic revival of this timely western" (Opera Wire). In recent seasons, she directed new productions of Charlie Parker's Yardbird for Arizona Opera, Carmen for Opera Santa Barbara with her photos from Seville featured in projections there and at Opera Southwest, an Alcina in collaboration with student designers at Boston University, and Papermoon’s production of Rigoletto at Eugene Opera. Other highlights include Le nozze di Figaro at Portland Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, and La bohème for New Orleans Opera. Fenlon has directed Carmen for Amarillo Opera, Pensacola Opera, Annapolis Opera, North Carolina Opera, Mill City Summer Opera and Dayton Opera. A house favorite at Palm Beach Opera, she has directed productions of Tosca, La Bohème, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’Amore and Così fan tutte for the company.
Upcoming projects include a return to Madison Opera for Norma, two Papermoon collaborations with Shreveport Opera and Opera Las Vegas, respectively, and the remount of her Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Opera Montreal.