General Director and CEO

Robert M. Heuer is the General Director of Florida Grand Opera (FGO). His opera management career began in Detroit as the Founding Managing Director of Michigan Opera. He joined Florida Grand Opera as Director of Production in 1979, became Assistant General Director in 1983 and became General Director in 1985. As General Director, Mr. Heuer led the effort to merge the Greater Miami Opera and The Opera Guild Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, creating Florida Grand Opera in June 1994. Mr. Heuer’s 25th anniversary as General Director was celebrated on February 25, 2010, with a Tribute Concert followed by a dinner on the Lynn Wolfson Stage of the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

During Mr. Heuer’s seasons as General Director and CEO, FGO has mounted 126 main-stage productions, including 31 operas never previously seen in South Florida. Among these productions are Richard Strauss’ Salome and Ariadne auf Naxos; Britten’s The Turn of the Screw; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea; Handel’s Julius Caesar; Janacek’s Kátya Kabanová; Marc Blitzstein’s Regina; Bellini’s La sonnambula; and the American premiere of Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero and the world premieres of Robert Ward’s Minutes till Midnight and David Carlson’s Anna Karenina.

Under Mr. Heuer’s leadership, the Company has developed one of the most important young artist programs in the country with the purpose of providing a bridge for singers from the educational to the professional arena. The Company’s Young Artist Studio is one of the most prestigious in the country, receiving over 700 applications annually from singers all over the world seeking the eight coveted positions in the program.

Robert M. Heuer was at the forefront of the community effort to build The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in downtown Miami. In addition, Mr. Heuer spearheaded the purchase of a 43,000 square foot site immediately across the street from the Ziff Ballet Opera House, which will accommodate the James Byrd Anderson, Jr. Opera Center. The Anderson Opera Center is planned to house the Company’s rehearsal studios, production office and studios, costume shop, artist apartments, administrative offices, and a 485-seat theater.

Mr. Heuer has served as Vice-Chairman of OPERA America and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Mr. Heuer has also served both as Chairman and panel member for the Opera/Music Theatre Challenge Grant Program and Opera/Music Theatre Grants Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the State of Florida Music Grants Review Panel. In 1988, the Florida Commissioner of Education appointed him to the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, which is an affiliate of the National Education Program at the Kennedy Center.
In 1990, the Republic of Austria awarded him the Grand Decoration of Honor in recognition of his commitment to producing the operas of Mozart. In 2001, he was recognized with the Narot Humanitarian Award presented by Temple Israel of Greater Miami. In 2007, he was awarded the Arts Management Excellence Award by the Arts and Business Council for his outstanding achievement in the management of a local arts organization.

Robert M. Heuer received the George Abbott Award at the Carbonell Awards ceremonies on April 12, 2010, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. Each year, the Carbonell Awards sponsor the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, awarded to an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region. Named for the legendary American theater producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director George Abbott, who died in Miami Beach in 1995 at the age of 107, The Abbott Award was bestowed by the Carbonell Awards board of directors and its special awards committee. Since its beginnings, the list of Abbott Award honorees has become the chronicle of the artistic and cultural elite of South Florida’s modern history. A native of Detroit, Mr. Heuer received his Bachelor of Arts in Speech/Theater from Wayne State University.