He was born in Paris and has worked as a lighting designer for theatres and opera houses worldwide since 1979. He has collaborated with directors including Peter Brook, Robert Carsen, Rufus Norris and Deborah Warner. Opera credits include Thebans, The Magic Flute, The Death of Klinghoffer, Eugene Onegin, Death in Venice, Messiah and the world premiere of Between Worlds (English National Opera), Wagner Dream (Welsh National Opera), Attila, Eugene Onegin and Macbeth (Metropolitan Opera, New York), Tosca, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Salome (Paris), Die Zauberflöte (Aix-en-Provence), Penthesilea (Strasbourg and Brussels), Hänsel und Gretel (Vienna State Opera), The Tempest, Parsifal and La Juive (Netherlands Opera), Don Carlos (Bolshoi Theatre) and Dialogues des Carmélites (La Scala, Milan, Oviedo, Antwerp, Nice and Japan). Theatre credits include Blasted and Lucky Dog (Royal Court), Festen (Almeida Theatre and West End), Cabaret, The Beautiful Game and By the Bog of Cats (West End), John Gabriel Borkman (Dublin and New York), The Year of Magical Thinking (Los Angeles National Theatre), Mother Courage, The Cherry Orchard, White Chameleon, The Mahabharatra and Richard III (National Theatre) and Macbeth, The Crucible, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Kalman’s many accolades include Olivier Awards (Best Lighting Design) for Richard III and White Chameleon and an Evening Standard Award (Best Lighting) for Festen.
Photo: artist’s archive