Edgar Baitzel was a German opera director and artistic administrator.

Born in Koblenz

Koblenz

Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

, Baitzel spent the first part of his career in Europe working on the staffs of several notable opera companies, including the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe

The Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe is a theatre and opera house in Karlsruhe, Germany. It has existed in its present form and place at Ettlinger Tor since 1975...

, the Bavarian State Opera

Bavarian State Opera

The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...

, the Opéra de Nice

Opéra de Nice

The Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...

, and the Theater der Bundesstadt Bonn. In November 2001 he joined the staff of the Los Angeles Opera

Los Angeles Opera

The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...

 (LAO) as the director of artistic operations. He was appointed the LAO's artistic director in May 2003 and then the company's chief operating officer in February 2006.

Baitzel's tenure at the LAO was marked by a significant expansion of the company's performance schedule and financial improvement. He also forged strong artistic partnerships with several notable directors, including David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg

David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...

, Achim Freyer

Achim Freyer

Achim Freyer is a German stage director, set designer and painter. A protege of Bertolt Brecht, Freyer has become one of the world's leading opera directors, working throughout Europe and, since 2002, in the United States, principally with the Los Angeles Opera...

, William Friedkin

William Friedkin

William Friedkin is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 and The Exorcist in 1973; for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director...

, Garry Marshall

Garry Marshall

Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...

, Maximilian Schell

Maximilian Schell

Maximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...

, and Julie Taymor

Julie Taymor

Julie Taymor is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song...

. He was also responsible for commissioning several world premiere's for the LAO, including Deborah Drattell

Deborah Drattell

Deborah Drattell is an American composer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and started her career in music as a violinist. Her compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Tanglewood and Caramoor Music Festivals, and many other groups and venues...

's Nicholas and Alexandra (2003), Elliot Goldenthal

Elliot Goldenthal

Elliot Goldenthal is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways...

's Grendel (2006), and Howard Shore

Howard Shore

Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...

's The Fly

The Fly (opera)

The Fly is an opera in two acts by Canadian composer Howard Shore to a libretto by David Henry Hwang. It was commissioned by the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where it premiered on 2 July 2008, and by Edgar Baitzel, then director of the Los Angeles Opera, where the opera was first performed on 7...

(2008). Having never retired, he died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 51.