'''David Roth''' (May 9, 1959 – July 19, 2015) was an American [[opera director]] and stage director. He was the General Director of the [[Kentucky Opera]] from 2006 to 2015.
==Life and career== Born in [[Beloit, Wisconsin]], Roth grew up in western Wisconsin on a 600-acre farm.<ref name="BUS">{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2007/01/15/story12.html|title=Following his passion: Kentucky Opera director David Roth prepared for farm career before discovering love of the arts|date=January 15, 2007|author=Richard Slawsky|work=[[Louisville Business First|Business First]]}}</ref> Roth went to grade school in [[Westby, Wisconsin|Westby]] and [[Viroqua, Wisconsin]], and then graduated from [[Viroqua High School]] in 1977.<ref>[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?pid=175365420 David Roth-obituary]</ref> He earned degrees in Business Administration and Vocal Performance from the [[University of Wisconsin–La Crosse]].<ref name="BUS"/><ref name="WHAS"/><ref name="ON"/> He began his career working for the [[Minnesota Opera]]. He worked as a director's assistant for [[John Copley (producer)|John Copley]], [[Colin Graham]], and [[Francesca Zambello]]. He went on to stage works for the [[Baltimore Opera]], the Minnesota Opera, and the [[Opera Theatre of Saint Louis]].<ref name="WHAS"/> In 2000 he joined the staff of the [[Fort Worth Opera]] where he worked for six years as the director of production and director of finance.<ref name="ON">{{cite news|url=http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/11/Departments/Obituaries.html|title=Obituaries: David Roth|work=[[Opera News]]|date=November 2015|volume=80|number=5}}</ref>
In 2006 Roth left his post in Fort Worth to assume the role of General Director of the [[Kentucky Opera]].<ref name="ON"/> He staged several productions for the Kentucky Opera over the next nine years, and also established Kentucky Opera's Composer Workshop Series; a program which enabled composers to develop new works in Louisville.<ref name="WHAS">{{cite news|url=http://www.whas11.com/story/news/local/2015/07/20/ky-opera-general-director-found-dead-in-car-during-return-from-business-trip/30413567/ |title=Ky. Opera: General director found dead in car during return from business trip |date=July 20, 2015 |work=[[WHAS-TV]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208082252/http://www.whas11.com/story/news/local/2015/07/20/ky-opera-general-director-found-dead-in-car-during-return-from-business-trip/30413567/ |archivedate=2015-12-08 }}</ref> Under his leadership the company staged the world premieres of two operas by composer [[Daron Hagen]]: ''New York Stories'' and ''A Woman in Morocco''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wfpl.org/louisville-arts-community-remembers-kentucky-opera-director-david-roth/|title=Louisville Arts Community Remembers Kentucky Opera Director David Roth|author=Tara Anderson|date=July 20, 2015|work=[[WFPL]]}}</ref> He remained director of the company until his death in 2015 due to a car crash caused by a heart attack Roth suffered while he was driving in [[Urbana, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/music/2015/07/23/report-ky-operas-roth-died-heart-attack/30565633/|title=Family: Ky Opera's Roth died of heart attack|work=[[The Courier-Journal]]|author=Elizabeth Kramer|date=July 23, 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?pid=175365420 David Roth-obituary]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, David}} [[Category:1959 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:American opera directors]] [[Category:American opera managers]] [[Category:People from Beloit, Wisconsin]] [[Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas]] [[Category:Artists from Louisville, Kentucky]] [[Category:People from Viroqua, Wisconsin]] [[Category:Road incident deaths in Illinois]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin–La Crosse alumni]]