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A.J. Guban
From: Mogadore, Ohio. LA Opera: revival lighting designer for West Side Story (2025, debut).
A.J. Guban is an award-winning designer based in Washington, D.C. He is the longtime lighting director at the Washington National Opera, where he has designed over 40 productions including Macbeth, Il Trovatore, Don Giovanni, Gods & Mortals, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, six world premiere operas (An American Soldier, Penny, Better Gods, The Dictator’s Wife, Proving Up, Taking Up Serpents), and 36 world premiere one-act operas.
At the Kennedy Center, A.J. serves as a key lighting designer across opera, theater and musical events. His recent work includes The Kennedy Center at 50 (broadcast on PBS), On Stage at the Opera House (a six-month pandemic performance series), and A Time to Sing with Renée Fleming and Vanessa Williams. He has also lit productions at Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Teatro di Cagliari, Opera Cleveland, Opéra de Montréal, New Orleans Opera, Detroit Opera, Atlanta Opera and Opera Lafayette, among others.
A.J. is also a sought-after associate and remount designer, having recreated more than a dozen major productions—both nationally and internationally—including Porgy and Bess, La Traviata, La Bohème, Champion, West Side Story and The Lion, the Unicorn and Me.
Upcoming projects include The Marriage of Figaro and West Side Story at Washington National Opera, and Porgy and Bess at Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Learn more at ajguban.com.
A.J. Guban is an award-winning designer based in Washington, D.C. He is the longtime lighting director at the Washington National Opera, where he has designed over 40 productions including Macbeth, Il Trovatore, Don Giovanni, Gods & Mortals, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, six world premiere operas (An American Soldier, Penny, Better Gods, The Dictator’s Wife, Proving Up, Taking Up Serpents), and 36 world premiere one-act operas.
At the Kennedy Center, A.J. serves as a key lighting designer across opera, theater and musical events. His recent work includes The Kennedy Center at 50 (broadcast on PBS), On Stage at the Opera House (a six-month pandemic performance series), and A Time to Sing with Renée Fleming and Vanessa Williams. He has also lit productions at Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Teatro di Cagliari, Opera Cleveland, Opéra de Montréal, New Orleans Opera, Detroit Opera, Atlanta Opera and Opera Lafayette, among others.
A.J. is also a sought-after associate and remount designer, having recreated more than a dozen major productions—both nationally and internationally—including Porgy and Bess, La Traviata, La Bohème, Champion, West Side Story and The Lion, the Unicorn and Me.
Upcoming projects include The Marriage of Figaro and West Side Story at Washington National Opera, and Porgy and Bess at Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Learn more at ajguban.com.