Biography
Leonard Prinsloo – Stage Director, Choreographer, and University Lecturer – was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and is currently based in Vienna, Austria.
He began his artistic training at the Pretoria School of Art, Music, and Ballet before earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Pretoria. He then completed a Master of Music degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. Alongside his academic studies, Leonard trained as a ballet dancer and performed for several years with the P.A.C.T. Ballet Company. While dancing professionally, he also served as resident choreographer for the P.A.C.T. Opera Company, creating dance scenes for operas by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and others. To deepen his expertise in directing, he worked as an observer assistant at the Cologne Opera House, learning from renowned directors such as Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Harry Kupfer, and Götz Friedrich. At Kupfer’s invitation, he choreographed the Dance of the Seven Veils in Salome at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam.
Leonard later became Assistant Director at the Opera House in Augsburg, where he directed works including Verdi’s Otello and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. In 1993, he joined the Vienna State Opera as Abendspielleiter (Assistant Director), collaborating with many of the leading singers and conductors of the time.
In 1995, he directed Der stumme Büßer – Bruder Boleslav (Kaufmann) for the Taschenoper Company in Vienna and subsequently transitioned into freelance directing and choreography. Since then, his work has taken him to opera houses throughout Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and Austria, where he has staged a wide repertoire including classical and contemporary operas, operettas, musicals, and several world premieres.
In 2014, Leonard was appointed Resident Director of the Léhar Festival in Bad Ischl. His productions there include Walzertraum (O. Straus), Eva, Der Zarewitsch, Das Land des Lächelns, Paganini, Zigeunerliebe, Wo die Lerche singt (all by Lehár), Fatinitza (Suppé), Die Kaiserin, Die Rose von Stambul (both by Fall), Die Ungarische Hochzeit (Dostal), and Die lustige Witwe (Lehár). He also directed Die Fledermaus (J. Strauss) for Klangboden Wien, staged in front of Schönbrunn Palace, and was invited to direct Peter Turrini’s Casino at Vienna’s prestigious Burgtheater.
To date, Leonard has directed nearly 70 productions across Europe and Asia. His staging of Die lustige Witwe was featured at the Daegu Opera Festival in South Korea. His production of Punch and Judy (Birtwistle) won top honors at an international festival in Hungary. At the Mörbisch Operetta Festival, he directed Das Land des Lächelns under the artistic leadership of Peter Edelmann.
In Bad Ischl, Leonard co-founded the youth theatre initiative Etterepo, later renamed JuMuT (Jugend, Musik und Theater). This project, which ran for 16 years, gave children aged 8 to 16 the opportunity to devise and perform their own scenes under his mentorship, earning national recognition for its educational value.
Leonard was invited to direct The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky) for MUK – the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna – where he taught as a university lecturer. Following his acclaimed production of Falstaff for MDW – the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna – he was also appointed as a lecturer there.
Recent projects include a staging of Orfeo ed Euridice in Las Palmas. Together with Sylvia Saavedra-Edelmann, he founded Plus Opera (www.plusopera.com), a company offering young singers the opportunity to perform full-scale operas, operettas, and musicals.As resident director at the Stadttheater in Baden, Austria, Leonard has staged numerous works by Kálmán, Lehár, and Suppé, as well as musicals such as Bonnie and Clyde, La Cage aux Folles, Cabaret, and in 2024, a highly praised production of Yeston’s Titanic.
He was recently invited to stage 1001 Nights (Johann Strauss Jr.) at the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre in Lithuania, followed by a production of Tosca (Puccini) for the Klosterneuburg Opera Festival.
Repertoire
Opera/Operetta
Composer, Work
Composer
Opera/Operetta
Part
P. Androsch, Schreber
P. Androsch
Schreber
P. Androsch, Zeichner im Schnee
P. Androsch
Zeichner im Schnee
L. Bernstein, Candide
L. Bernstein
Candide
H. Birtwistle, Punch and Judy
H. Birtwistle
Punch and Judy
G. Bizet, Carmen
G. Bizet
Carmen
B. Britten, Billy Budd
B. Britten
Billy Budd
B. Britten, The Rape of Lukretia
B. Britten
The Rape of Lukretia
B. Brecht / K. Weil, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagony
B. Brecht / K. Weil
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagony
B. Brecht / H. Eisler, Die Maßnahme
B. Brecht / H. Eisler
Die Maßnahme
D. Cimarosa, Il Matrimonio segreto
D. Cimarosa
Il Matrimonio segreto
C. Coburger, Zwischenfälle
C. Coburger
Zwischenfälle
G. Donizetti, Il campanello
G. Donizetti
Il campanello
G. Donizetti, L'Elisir d'amore
G. Donizetti
L'Elisir d'amore
N. Dostal, Die ungarische Hochzeit
N. Dostal
Die ungarische Hochzeit
G. v. Einem, Dantons Tod
G. v. Einem
Dantons Tod
P. Eötvös, Radames
P. Eötvös
Radames
L. Fall, Die Rose von Stambul
L. Fall
Die Rose von Stambul
L. Fall, Die Kaiserin
L. Fall
Die Kaiserin
CW. Gluck, Orfeo et Euridice
CW. Gluck
Orfeo et Euridice
HK. Gruber, Frankenstein
HK. Gruber
Frankenstein
G.F. Händel, Tamerlane
G.F. Händel
Tamerlane
H. W. Henze, Der junge Lord
H. W. Henze
Der junge Lord
E. Humperdinck, Händel und Gretel
E. Humperdinck
Händel und Gretel
E. Kalman, Gräfin Maiza
E. Kalman
Gräfin Maiza
E. Kalman, Kaiserin Josefine
E. Kalman
Kaiserin Josefine
J. Kander, Cabaret
J. Kander
Cabaret
D. Kaufmann, Der Stumme Büßer
D. Kaufmann
Der Stumme Büßer
R. O'Brien, The Rocky Horror Picture Show
R. O'Brien
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
F. Lehár, Das Land des Lächelns
F. Lehár
Das Land des Lächelns
F. Lehár, Der Zarewitsch
F. Lehár
Der Zarewitsch
F. Lehár, Die Juxheirat
F. Lehár
Die Juxheirat
F. Lehár, Die lustige Witwe
F. Lehár
Die lustige Witwe
F. Lehár, Paganini
F. Lehár
Paganini
F. Lehár, Zigeunerliebe
F. Lehár
Zigeunerliebe
F. Lehár, Wo die Lerche singt
F. Lehár
Wo die Lerche singt
A. Lloyd Weber/ T. Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar
A. Lloyd Weber/ T. Rice
Jesus Christ Superstar
G. C. Menotti, The telephone
G. C. Menotti
The telephone
W.A. Mozart, CosÌ fan tutte
W.A. Mozart
CosÌ fan tutte
W.A. Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro
W.A. Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
J. Offenbach, Die Pariser Leben
J. Offenbach
Die Pariser Leben
G. B. Pergolesi, La serva padrona
G. B. Pergolesi
La serva padrona
F. Poulenc, La voix humaine
F. Poulenc
La voix humaine
G. Puccini, Gianni Schicchi
G. Puccini
Gianni Schicchi
G. Puccini, Turandot
G. Puccini
Turandot
A. Reimann, Lear
A. Reimann
Lear
G. Rossini, La Cambiale di Matrimonio
G. Rossini
La Cambiale di Matrimonio
D. Sarro, L'Impresario delle Canarie
D. Sarro
L'Impresario delle Canarie
G. Schedl, Der Ficus spricht
G. Schedl
Der Ficus spricht
B. Smetana, Die verkaufte Braut
B. Smetana
Die verkaufte Braut
S. Sondheim, A funny thing happened on the way to the forum
S. Sondheim
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum
J. Strauss, Die Fledermaus
J. Strauss
Die Fledermaus
J. Strauss Jr., 1001 Nights
J. Strauss Jr.
1001 Nights
O. Strauss, Ein Walzertraum
O. Strauss
Ein Walzertraum
I. Stravinsky, The Rake's Progress
I. Stravinsky
The Rake's Progress
F. von Suppe, Fatiniza
F. von Suppe
Fatiniza
G. Verdi, Don Carlos
G. Verdi
Don Carlos
G. Verdi, Falstaff
G. Verdi
Falstaff
G. Verdi, Macbeth
G. Verdi
Macbeth
F. Wilhorn, Bonnie & Clyde
F. Wilhorn
Bonnie & Clyde
H. Willi, Schlafes Bruder
H. Willi
Schlafes Bruder
*not yet performed on stage
Contact
Sylvia Saavedra-Edelmann
Artist Manager
ssaaved@sonoartists.com
+43 (0) 650 552 4855
Amar Priganica
Artists Associate Manager