Born in Havana, Cuba, raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Broadway: Indecent (2017 Tony Award Best Play Nomination); The Gin Game (Sets and Costumes - starring James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson); The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (2012 Tony Award Best Musical Revival); The People in the Picture (Studio 54); Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change (also Royal National Theater London - 2007 Olivier Award for Best NewMusical/2006 London’s Evening Standard Award for Best Musical); TopDog/UnderDog (2002 Pulitzer Award Best Play-also Royal Court, London); Elaine Stritch at Liberty (also West End’s Old Vic & National Tour); Parade (Hal Prince director, Tony and Drama Desk Nominations); Bells Are Ringing; Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk (also National Tours and Japan); The Tempest.
Recent: Jagged Little Pill; and The White Card written by Claudia Rankine, both directed by Diane Paulus for American Repertory Theater; La Dame aux Camélias (France); Eve’s Song written by Patricia Ione Lloyd; Mlima’s Tale written by Lynn Nottage, both directed by Jo Bonney; Oedipus El Rey written by Luis Alfaro all for Public Theater; Lempicka for Williamstown Theater Festival, and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire for NYTW, both directed by Rachel Chavkin; Admissions written by Joshua Harmon, directed by Daniel Aukin for Lincoln Center Theater; King Lear, A Doll’s House and Strindberg’s The Father (both in repertory), The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Winter’s Tale all directed by Arin Arbus for Theater For A New Audience; The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World and Jesus Hopped the A Train for Signature Theater; Red Speedo written by Lucas Hnath, directed by Liliana Blain Cruz for New York Theater Workshop; Notes From the Field written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith for American Repertory Theater and Second Stage NYC; The Invisible Hand written by Ayad Akhtar, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll for New York Theater Workshop; Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Giovanni directed by Ron Daniels for Santa Fe Opera; Grounded written by George Brant, directed by Julie Taymor for Public Theater; The Library directed by film director Steven Soderbergh for Public Theater; Splendid’s written by Jean Genet, directed by Arthur Nauzyciel for Theatre National de la Colline, Paris France. For Avignon Festival (France): La Mouette (Cour D’Honneur, Palais des Papes); Jan Karski, Mon Nom Est Fiction (Opera Theatre and Teatr Polski, Warsaw). World Premiere of Il Postino (Sets and Costumes) with Placido Domingofor Los Angeles Opera, also at Theatre du Chatelet Paris, Theater an der Wien Vienna, PBS Telecast; World Premiere of Philip Glass’ Appomatox for San Francisco Opera, directed by Robert Woodruff; Abigail’s Party (Oslo National Theater, Norway); The Dead New Adaptation by Frank McGuiness and Othello both for Abbey Theater, Dublin; World Premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s A Coffin in Egypt (Sets and Costumes) for Houston Grand Opera; Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail (Opera de Nice, France); Il Tabarro/I Pagliacci, Sweeney Todd (Opera Theater of Saint Louis); The Lost Highway (Sets and Costumes) directed by Diane Paulus for London’s English National Opera/Young Vic.
Riccardo Hernández has designed over 250 productions at most leading Regional Theaters and Opera across the US and Internationally. Over thirty productions at New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater: The America Play; One Flea Spare;Stuff Happens; Blade to the Heat (Audelco Award); TopDog/UnderDog; Noise/Funk; Mother Courage(starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline) both directed by George C. Wolfe; (also collaborations with: Diane Paulus, Lear DeDessonet, Jo Bonney, Mary Zimmerman, Daniel Sullivan, Mark Brokaw, Kathleen Marshall, Mark Lamos, Ron Daniels, Graciela Daniele, others), BAM, Lincoln Center, TFANA, Atlantic Theater (collaborations with film director Ethan Cohen), Second Stage (Let Me Down Easy written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith, also PBS Great Performances); NYTW, MTC, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, others.
Regional: American Repertory Theater (collaborations with Diane Paulus, Ron Daniels, Robert Woodruff, Janos Szasz, Arthur Nauzyciel, Robert Brustein, Leonard Foglia, Liz Diamond), Guthrie, Goodman, Taper, La Jolla, Steppenwolf, McCarter, Yale Repertory Theater, others. Opera: Don Giovanni (Diane Paulus director, Chicago Opera); Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun (Mark Lamos director, New York City Opera); Amistad (George C. Wolfe director, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Houston Grand Opera, FGO, Santa Fe Opera, Gotham Opera NYC, others. Also: Festival Automne Paris, Orleans CDN France, Teatro Real de Madrid, Det Norske Teatret, Oslo Norway, MXAT (Moscow Art Theater), Singapore International Festival of Arts.
Numerous Awards and Nominations: OBIE Award Sustained Excellence of Scenic Design; Henry Hewes Design Award Outstanding Scenic Design; Princess Grace Statue Award; Princess Grace Grant, Drama Desks, Connecticut Critics Circle, Helen Hayes, Audelco, American Theater Wing, Boston Elliot Norton Award, Jeff Award, others.
Assistant Professor, Theater Design at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. 1992 David Geffen School of Drama.