Craig Wich/Curriculum VitaeDirector/Instructor
Artistic Director/Founder
Guest Artist/Instructor/Master Classes
Music Director
Director of Stage Productions
Education
Special Training • Tae Kwon Do- Black Belt; ITF Jae Hon Kim Tae Kwon Do Institute, Boston • Tae Kwon Do- Black Belt; WTF Blue Wave (Chun Do Kwan) Instructor, Vermont • The Alexander Technique • Feldenkreis Techniques • Laban Movement Techniques • Advanced Open Water Scuba Certification Honors • National Endowment for the Arts – Grant to write an original American opera, 1992 • The Boston University Award for Excellence in Opera, 1983 • Opera Fellowship Award, Boston University, 1982-84 • N.A.T.S. Eastern Regional Competition, Third Place, 1978 • New York Regional Competition, Best Actor, 1975 Biography of Craig WichMr. Wich has performed and directed with such notable organizations as: The Boston Lyric Opera, Boston, MA; The Friends of Dr. Burney, in Residence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Alea lll in Residence at Boston University, Boston, MA; Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble, Boston, MA; Omnibus, Boston, MA; Boris Goldovsky Opera,International; The Inside Out Opera Company, Boston, MA; The Ithaca City Opera Company, Ithaca, NY; The Waltham Symphony Orchestra, Waltham, MA; The Milford Symphony, Milford, MA; Sanders Theater at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; The Fogg Museum Recital Series at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; King Richard’s Fair, New England Tour; The Library of Congress-Washington, D. C.; The Castle Hill Arts Festival, Ipswich, MA; and the Maltz-Jupiter Theater, Jupiter, FL. He has been honored to receive: The Boston University Award for Excellence in Opera; Winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Eastern Regional Competition and Best Actor in New York State’s Regional Competition. In addition to his performing credits, Mr. Wich is nationally renowned as a director, having founded The Opera Lab to explore the integration of music, theater and movement. As Artistic Director for The Opera Lab, he has directed critically acclaimed productions of “Dido and Aeneas”, “The Tender Land” and “The Rake’s Progress”. “…Kudos should go to Craig Wich.” Craig Wich has been doing striking work...innovative…astonishing and brilliantly executed...” The Boston Globe.
Equally versed in opera, musical theater and the dramatic arts, Mr. Wich has enjoyed performing and directing in authentic performances of traditional repertoire, opera, plays and musicals, as well as new works and experimental pieces. Mr. Wich is an avid poet, essayist and playwright. As a playwright, he has written and directed two original plays for PLAYWORKS at Boston University. Additionally, Mr. Wich was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to write an original American opera. The result was the opera “Hostage”, which premiered at the Boston Fringe festival in 2007 to enthusiastic audiences and reviews. Mr. Wich has taught and directed at Boston Conservatory, Boston, MA; Boston University, Boston, MA; Emerson College, Boston, MA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; The Longy School of Music Cambridge, MA; The Belmont School of Music Belmont, MA; Maltz Jupiter Theater, Jupiter, FL; StarStruck Theater, Stuart, FL; and Stuart School of Music, Stuart, FL. Mr. Wich has given Master Classes throughout the United States including: Making It On Broadway, New York, NY; The Music Academy of the West at Santa Barbara, CA; American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA; The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; University of California at Irvine, CA; The Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts, Boston, MA; Indian School of Music, Boston, MA. Presently, Mr. Wich splits his time between South Florida and New England. He is currently the Artistic Director of Craig Wich Studios of Performing Arts, in Jupiter, FL and Boston, MA; while maintaining his teaching position as member of the voice faculty at The Boston Conservatory where he has taught since 1989. Mr. Wich's passion for vocal science and integrating voice with movement and acting, has allowed him to cultivate techniques that have enabled his students to reach the highest levels of performance around the world. Many of Mr Wich’s students have achieved both national and international recognition in opera, musical theater and other popular venues. Mr. Wich's students have been seen in productions at The Metropolitan Opera, and in International Opera Productions around the world including: "Seven Deadly Sins'', "Werther", "Le Nozze Di Figaro", "The Merry Widow", "Die Fledermaus", :Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria", "Rinaldo", "Rigoletto", "Vanessa" and "Porgy and Bess" to name a few. Recently, Mr. Wich's students have also achieved success in the Broadway productions of: "Annie", "Finding Neverland", "Allegiance", "Be More Chill" and "Wicked" and in the Broadway National tours of: "Sound of Music'', "Finding Neverland", "Pippin'', "Showboat", and "Pretty Woman". Most recently Mr. Wich was seen on The Kelly Clarkson Show celebrating and supporting his student Talia Suskauer who has taken over the iconic role of "Elphaba" in the Broadway production of "Wicked". As well as opera and musical theater, many of Mr. Wich's students are successful popular singers and singer songwriters and can be heard on all digital media. In addition to his artistic endeavors, Mr. Wich is a devoted father, Martial Arts instructor, Equestrian, having competed in events throughout the North East of America and an advanced open water scuba diver. Mr. Wich has his Bachelors of Music from Ithaca College and his Masters of Music from Boston University. |
“...Kudos should go to
Craig Wich. Craig Wich has been doing striking work... innovative... astonishing and brilliantly executed...” — The Boston Globe. “Peter Sellars isn’t the only innovative director in this town…For years, Craig Wich, through his Opera Laboratory Theater Company, has been doing striking work.” — AnthonyTommasini, Boston Globe “clever and brilliantly executed…strongly sung and superbly acted…” — Richard Dyer, Boston Globe “The Opera Lab is such an attractive, enterprising outfit, you can’t help admiring its pluck and inventiveness. Open minded audiences are being exposed to some fresh ad valuable new ideas.” – Lloyd Schwartz, Boston Phoenix “Robin Hood proved a brash bawdy affair…the production was simply and skillfully directed by Craig Wich.” — Tim Page, New York Times “Successful right from the start…the production bespoke enormous care in every respect.” — Derrick Henry, Boston Globe “…burgeoning authentic performance… deftness…served by exclusive concentration…” — Lon Tuck, Washington Post “I have given seminars all over the country and directed in most of the major opera houses, and what Craig Wich and his ensemble are creating is truly unique. It embodies organic developmental principles relating to the training of the performer, the creation of new pieces and new ways of performing (as well as providing a firm basis for traditional performance). Most importantly, it is establishing the nurturing environment in which all this can most fruitfully take place. The work being done at The Opera Lab is genuinely significant, and has import beyond its location in Boston. Nurturing such efforts is vital to the health of opera and music-theater in America.” — H. Wesley Balk, Professor: University of Minnesota, Director of Performer Development: Minnesota Opera Company “I have great respect for the work of Craig Wich. He is a talented Director and a very inspired teacher. I endorse any support that might help him continue his efforts.” — Theadore Antoniou, Music Director: Alea III “Craig Wich is one of the brightest talents I’ve encountered in opera. He is a first class musician and a stage director who combines insight and wit. He has a rare understanding of music on the stage. I expect great things from him.” — Scott Wheeler, Artistic Director: Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble “I worked closely with Craig Wich when he directed my opera, Embers, and I have first-hand experience of the unique combination of musicianship and theatrical expertise that he brings to the direction of opera.” — Peter Child, Composer, Assistant Professor of Music: MIT “Craig Wich’s work is not only innovative, creative, and challenging, it is work of the highest quality, substance, and integrity, and this makes all the difference. What Craig Wich can add to a person is immeasurable. He is original, he knows his art, he knows how to teach, and his contributions and insights are of genuine importance.” — Sam Headrick, Composer, Professor: Boston University |
