The Atlanta Opera has hired the first managing director in its history, a sure sign of its recent growth.
Micah Fortson, a Houston-based attorney, joined the company in July. For the past seven years, he has been a litigator for the Houston firm of Fortson, Frazer & Siegrist, P.C. Before that, he spent more than a decade in production and stage management at theater and opera companies, including Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and the San Francisco and New Orleans operas.
Fortson has a B.A. in theater from the University of New Orleans, an M.F.A. in theater design and management from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law.
As managing director, he becomes Atlanta Opera’s key finance administrator, working alongside general & artistic director Tomer Zvulun. He’s charged with implementing the company’s recently ratified strategic plan and advancing the organization’s mission, artistic vision and growth.
The Atlanta Opera begins its 2017/18 season Sept. 28 with an eight-performance run of Brecht and Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins in a cabaret setting at Le Maison Rouge at Paris on Ponce (part of its Discoveries series at alternative venues). The mainstage season begins Nov. 4 with Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman at the Cobb Energy Performance Center in Cobb County.
