The American director’s work has earned critical praise at most of this country’s major opera companies. In addition to TDO’s Tosca (her company debut), highlights have included The Little Prince (Houston Grand Opera, Tulsa Opera—revival of Francesca Zambello’s production), Brundibar (Tulsa Opera), Faust (Washington National Opera), La bohème and Don Giovanni (both for Lyric Opera of Kansas City), Roméo et Juliette (National Symphnoy Orchestra/Wolf Trap Opera), Fidelio (Cleveland Opera), and nine productions for Connecticut Opera. In 2021 she is scheduled to direct Cendrillon for Seagle Music Colony (Schroon Lake, New York). Schlaefer is former production stage manager for The Santa Fe Opera and The Washington National Opera. Associate professor and director of opera studies and opera at the University of South Carolina since 2004, she has staged more than 50 productions at USC and has established the Carolina Opera Experience, a summer day camp for children. Schlaefer is the founder and general director of FBN Productions, Inc., Opera for Kids, a professional touring company established in 1994 performing operas in schools, libraries, and other venues throughout the Southeast.