Palm Beach Opera Announces General Director Transition

Palm Beach Opera has announced a leadership transition. General Director Daniel Biaggi is stepping down on Oct. 15, and Managing Director David Walker will become the new general director. Biaggi, who has led the company for the past 10 years, will remain available as a strategic and artistic advisor for the 19-20 season. Some highlights:

Under Biaggi's leadership, Palm Beach Opera undertook a financial and organizational turnaround despite the economic crisis in Biaggi's initial years, and evolved into a financially-sustainable organization.

Walker joined Palm Beach Opera in 2015 as director of institutional advancement, overseeing all aspects of revenue generation, based on his success managing fundraising and marketing campaigns at other arts organizations around the country. He was promoted to managing director in the spring of 2016 and has led the company's activities alongside Biaggi for the past three years.

Walker is regularly a guest lecturer on the business of opera and often serves on vocal competition adjudicating panels, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions - a competition he himself won in 1998. Prior to his arts administration career, Walker had an 18-year international singing career.

"It is a distinct honor to continue the important work that our board of directors, Daniel Biaggi, and staff have accomplished, and it has been a sincere pleasure to have been a part of these efforts for the past four seasons," said David Walker. "Through these extraordinary efforts, and Daniel Biaggi's incomparable leadership, Palm Beach Opera is poised to continue growing its opera family, providing transformative performances, training the next generation of opera stars, offering much-needed arts education programs over three counties, and impacting the lives of so many in our community. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead, along with our growing board, this important performing arts institution."