Bio
Born in Ecuador, Chía Patiño’s artistic journey has been an eclectic one. She staged zarzuela, musical theatre, theatre, and opera for numerous companies in the United States, Arab Emirates, Egypt, Guatemala, Colombia, and Ecuador, and in 2009, became the Artistic and Executive Director of the National Theatre in Ecuador. Among her recent opera productions are Tosca, La flauta mágica de los Andes, Faust, Don Giovanni, Transformations, Rusalka, Dido and Aeneas, Carmen, and La traviata. She has also directed Les Misérables, Spring Awakening, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and Luisa Fernanda. She was the music director for Cruzar la cara de la luna, the mariachi opera commissioned and produced by Houston Grand Opera, which she subsequently performed in Paris, San Diego, Phoenix, Fort Worth, El Paso, Chicago, and Houston, as well as the world premiere of the choral version in Quito, Ecuador. Last season, she directed Ñomongeta, the first Guarani opera by Paraguayan composer Diego Sanchez-Haase for Opera Hispánica and The Embassy of Paraguay. Additionally, she directed Don Giovanni for Opera Williamsburg and La tragédie de Carmen for Chautauqua Opera, and, most recently, La traviata for Florida Grand Opera. Recent engagements also include directing Orfeo ed Euridice for Seattle Opera, Cruzar la cara de la luna for the Butler Opera Center, and Florencia en el Amazonas for Opera de Tenerife. From 2009 to 2019, she was the Artistic and Executive Director of the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador, the most active cultural space in the Ecuadorian capital.