Kostis Protopapas is a Greek-born American symphony and opera conductor, currently serving as the Artistic Director of Opera Santa Barbara.
During his 15-year tenure with the company, Protopapas conducted 30 productions of a diverse repertoire extending from popular classics like La Boheme, Carmen and Pagliacci to contemporary American works like Elmer Gantry, Of Mice and Men and A Streetcar Named Desire.
About his 2011 Barber of Seville performances, Alex Ross of The New Yorker wrote "Most impressive was the fluid idiomatic playing of the orchestra… In any city, it's rare to find a conductor that sets the right tempo so consistently that you stop noticing he's there.
During the 2002 and 2003 seasons he was the Assistant Chorusmaster at Lyric Opera of Chicago, under Donald Palumbo.
[6] He is married to soprano and stage director Cathleen Dunn.