Born in Ecuador, Chía Patiño’s path has been eclectic; she began as a pianist, continued as a composer, and began a parallel path as a stage director in 1998. For ten years she staged Zarzuela, Musical Theatre, Theatre, and Opera for numerous companies in the United States, Arab Emirates, Egypt, Guatemala, Colombia, and Ecuador. In 2009, she became the Artistic and Executive Director of the National Theatre in Ecuador and in 2019 she returned to the USA to join the Butler School of Musicas an Associate Professor and the Stage Director for the Butler Opera Center in Austin, TX. This year, Patiño will join the faculty of the Department of Voice and Opera at The University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance as an Assistant Professor.

In the upcoming season, Patiño is set to direct La fille du Régiment at Opera Colorado with special guest star Monét X Change, as well as the world premiere of The House on Mango Street at Glimmerglass Opera.

Among her recent opera productions are Tosca, La flauta mágica de los Andes, Faust, Don Giovanni, Transformations, Rusalka, Dido and Aeneas, Carmen, and La Traviata. She has also directed Les Miserables, Spring Awakening, West Side Story, and Sweeney Todd, as well as Luisa Fernanda. She was the music director for Cruzar la cara de la luna, the mariachi opera commissioned and produced by Houston Grand Opera, which she subsequently performed in Paris, San Diego, Phoenix, Fort Worth, El Paso, Chicago, and Houston, as well as the world premiere of the choral version in Quito, Ecuador. In addition, Patiño recently directed Ñomongeta, the first Guarani opera by Paraguayan composer Diego Sanchez-Haase for Opera Hispánica and The Embassy of Paraguay. She has also directed Don Giovanni for Opera Williamsburg and La tragédie de Carmen for Chautauqua Opera.