Internationally, his work has taken him to Chicago Opera Theater for Semele, and Il Viaggio a Reims, to Danish National Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia, to Jönköping in Sweden for Il barbiere di Siviglia and Don Pasquale, to Den Ny Opera in Denmark for Orlando, Il Turco in Italia, Rinaldo and Le Nozze di Figaro and to Århus for their Sommeropera’s productions of Elskovsdrikken and Cosi fan tutte. In Copenhagen he directed the inaugural production of the Copenhagen Opera Festival, Opera i Underverden, and he has directed Donizetti’s Rita, Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle, Massenet’s La Grand’tante and Offenbach’s Den Forvandlede Kat for Den Rullende Opera and Une Education Manquée and Il Campanello for the Azuriales Festival in Nice. For the Zêzere Arts Festival in Portugal he has directed I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Die Zauberflöte, Giulio Cesare and La Cenerentola. In an association lasting over twenty years with Opera Akademiet at the royal Theatre, Copenhagen, his directing projects have included Il Tabarro, Ariodante, Hänsel und Gretel and Walton’s The Bear. Among other productions with Danish opera students are Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi and Riders to the Sea. In the Republic of Ireland he has directed Carmen for the opera in Cork. In Colombo, Sri Lanka, he directed the country’s first domestically produced opera production, with Cavalleria Rusticana. During 1998 and 1999 he worked with Peter Brook and Claudio Abbado at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and on the subsequent world tour of Don Giovanni. In 2025 he will make his German début with a production of La Cenerentola for Landestheater Detmold.

2008 saw his main-house début at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, directing Rolando Villazon in a revival of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. In 1995 he was invited to join the team of directors at Glyndebourne. With their touring company he has directed La Traviata, Le Comte Ory and Rodelinda. The Royal Opera House commissioned a new translation and adaptation of La Cenerentola, which he directed in the Linbury Theatre in 2001.

In the earlier part of his career he forged the beginning of a long-term association with Surrey Opera, for whom he has directed Hansel and Gretel, Faust, Die Fledermaus, Turandot, The Flying Dutchman and the world première of Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s lost masterpiece Thelma. He is now their Associate Artistic Director.

Alongside this work, he has maintained his freelance directing career with productions of Faust, Lucia di Lammermoor, Manon Lescaut and Le Cid (UK première) for the Dorset Opera Festival, La bohème and Handel’s Partenope for Iford Arts, Cendrillon, May Night and Don Giovanni for Royal Academy Opera, Agrippina, Poro, re dell’Indie and Atalanta for the London Handel Festival, the modern première of Rameau’s Acante et Céphise and The Snowmaiden for UCO, Idomeneo for the Royal Scottish Academy, The Magic Flute for British Youth Opera, Madama Butterfly and Carmen for Castleward Opera, Manon, Louise and La rondine for Opera Coast, The Fairy Queen, Malcolm Williamson’s English Eccentrics, Delibes’ Le Roi l’a Dit, Lennox Berkely’s A Dinner Engagement, Lortzing’s The Opera Rehearsal, Benjamin’s Prima Donna, Vaughan Willams’ Riders to the Sea, Von Suppé's Ten Belles without a Ring and Offenbach's La Périchole for Morley Opera, Falstaff for Pegasus Opera, La Rondine and Dido and Aeneas for City Opera, Weber’s Die Drei Pintos for Opera Omnibus, Eugene Onegin for Nonsuch Opera, The Magic Flute with Island Opera, Carmen at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas and many others.

As a translator, his work has appeared in performances for English National Opera, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Scottish Opera and Opera North among others, and has been recorded by Chandos for their Opera in English series