Francesca Zambello is the artistic director of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, and general director emerita of the Glimmerglass Festival. She is an internationally recognized director of opera and theater: her work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Bolshoi, Covent Garden, Munich Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and English National Opera. She has staged plays and musicals on Broadway, Royal National Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Guthrie Theater, Vienna's Raimund Theater, Bregenz Festival, Sydney Festival, and Disneyland. She received the San Francisco Opera Medal for Artistic Excellence for 30 years of artistic contributions. In 2020, she received the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy for her contribution to Italian culture. She was awarded France’s Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and Russia’s medal for Service to Culture. Theatrical honors include Olivier Awards, Evening Standard Awards, French Grand Prix des Critiques, Helpmann Award, Green Room Award, and Russia’s Golden Mask. She began her career as artistic director of Skylight Opera Theatre, and as an assistant director to Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. She is married to Faith E. Gay, founding partner of Selendy & Gay and they have a son, Jackson, and two labs named Rome and Rex. They make their residences in NYC, Cooperstown, NY, and Washington, DC.