Justin Way is rapidly establishing a reputation as a director of significant talent and accomplishment.  To date, this young director has staged 26 operas and concerts and assisted in the direction of 43 productions in Europe, Australia and the US.  He has worked with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the English Touring Opera, Opera Australia, Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu, Covent Garden Festival, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Festival Les Azuriales, Opera Fountainbleau, Clerkenwell Music Festival, Bregenzer Festspiele and Washington National Opera.

Invited to join the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for its re-opening in 1999, Justin Way has since directed revivals and assisted in the direction of numerous new productions and revivals for the company.  As Staff Director for ROH Mr. Way has directed revivals of Madama Butterfly (Leiser & Caurier), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Lowery), and La Cenerentola(Leiser & Caurier), he has directed several casts in La traviata for the company’s Education Department, and has directed scenework for the Royal College of Music.  Productions on  which he has served as assistant director for the company include Billy Budd (Zambello), The Tempest (Cairns), Duke Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung (Willy Decker), Wozzeck (Warner) and Greek Passion (Poutney) which both won Olivier Awards for Best Opera Production, Don Giovanni (Zambello), Pique Dame (Zambello), Tosca (Cox/Zeffirelli), Falstaff (Vick), Il trovatore (Moshinsky), Otello (Moshinsky), Rigoletto (Metcalfe), Ariadne auf Naxos (Loy), Der Fliegende Holländer (Judge), Die Meistersinger (Vick), and Parsifal (Gruber).

Recent and upcoming Directorial Projects include his highly acclaimed production of Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail for Chicago Opera Theater, his recent new production of Alcina for Opera Australia, his upcoming new production of La Traviata for the 75th anniversary celebration of Central City Opera in the US his upcoming new production of Orlando, also for Chicago Opera Theater, an additional new production of Orlando for Opera Australia and a new production of The Beggars Opera for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in The Linbury Theatre. Mr. Way has just completed revivals of Madama Butterfly (Leiser & Caurier) which he directed for Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Ariadne auf Naxos which he directed for Gran Téâtre de Genève. Future revivals for Royal Opera House Covent Garden include new productions of Le nozze di Figaro (McVicar) and Das Rheingold (Warner) as part of 3 cycles of The Ring to be presented in the upcoming season.

Additional recent assignments include his new productions of Dardanus, Semele and The Fairy Queen for Pinchgut Opera in Australia, additional ROH revivals of Otello, Il trovatore and Greek Passion, new productions of Il turco in Italia (Leiser & Caurier), Das Rheingold/Die Walküre (Warner) and Faust (McVicar) on which he assisted, and a revival of Madama Butterfly (Leiser & Caurier) which he directed for the company.

In his hometown of Sydney for Opera Australia, he has assisted on Baz Lurhmann’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lindy Hume’s Lucrezia Borgia, and Elijah Moshinsky’s Werther.  Other revival director work includes Le nozze di Figaro for English Touring Opera , where he also assisted Stephen Metcalfe in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and La Cenerentola for Washington National Opera.

Justin Way has trained in theatre and opera houses throughout the world.  He was appointed Affiliate Director of Sydney Theatre Company in 1996 and his early training includes work at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg and the Kirov, as well as, The Australian Opera.  He has acted for Vortex, Australian Theatre for Young People and Sydney University Drama Society.  He holds degrees in dramatic arts from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the University of Sydney.