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Known for his dynamic artistry, Lawrence Craig has earned
a reputation for his “Fine baritone” (New York Times)
and “virtuosic talent” (Zürich Tages-Anzeiger) in Europe
and the Americas in opera, concert, and recital. A student
of the late internationally acclaimed bass-baritone, William
Warfield, Mr. Craig is a graduate of the Florida Grand Opera
and Chautauqua Opera Young Artist Programs. As winner of
the Bel Canto International Opera Competition, he studied
and performed with artistic staff of the famed Teatro Alla
Scala in Sienna, Italy. Mr. Craig has appeared in a number
of roles, but most notably as Harlequin in Strauss’ Ariadne
auf Naxos, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Guglielmo in Mozart’s
Cosi fan tutte, Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, Dapertutto in
Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Sharpless in Puccini’s
Madama Butterfly, and Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Companies with whom he has appeared include the Chicago Opera
Theater, Opera Colorado, Florentine Opera, Harlem Opera Theatre,
Latvian National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Munich
Biennale Opera Festival, New York City Opera (Education Division),
Opera Festival of New Jersey, Orlando Opera, Portland Opera
Reparatory Theater, Opera Roanoke, Savonlinna International
Opera Festival, Trilogy Opera and the Spoleto Opera Festival USA.
Mr. Craig most recently appeared in the world premieres of
Baur’s The Promise as Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. with
the Germantown PAC and Raphael’s Nat Turner as Henry with
Trilogy Opera. He has also appeared on Broadway in Baz Luhrmann’s La
Bohème on Broadway, Spoleto Festival in the American premiere of
Kurt Weill’s Die Bürgschaft (recorded for EMI Classics), Union
Avenue Opera as Jake in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, the Latvian
National Opera as Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Opera Colorado
as Sportin’ Life in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, American Opera
Projects/Vineyard Theatre as Soong Ling in Xiang’s Beautiful
Warrior, Theatreworks USA as Jim in a national tour production
of Huckleberry Finn, Harlem Repertory Theatre as the Lion in
The Wiz, and INTAR/Women’s Project as Cristobal in Sierra’s
opera for the Broadway theater Terra Incognita. Other
contemporary American opera appearances include Ain’s The
Outcast, Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, Bernstein’s Trouble
in Tahiti, Davis’s X, León’s The Scourge of Hyacinths, Mechem’s
John Brown, Menotti’s The Medium and Amahl and the Night Visitors,
Susa’s Transformations, and Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts.
Recent concert appearances include Elijah with the Mansfield
Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tributes
with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra and guest appearance
for the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, Symphonic Orchestra of Chile
for Copland’s Old American Songs, the George Enescu Bucharest
Philharmonic and the Athens State Orchestra in Orff’s Carmina
Burana, Symphonic Orchestra of Argentina in Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 9, Dayton Philharmonic for Dett’s The Ordering of Moses,
Romanian Broadcasting Corporation in J. S. Bach’s Weihnachts
Oratorium, Finland’s Kainuu International Jazz and Musica
Borealis Festivals for Sarmanto’s jazz lieder cycle North
Country Suite, Cincinnati Pops as Walker in Gershwin’s Blue
Monday and as Sportin’ Life in excerpts from Porgy and Bess
(recorded for Telarc International), Austrian Broadcasting
Corporation singing “Old Man River” for the motion picture
Musik am Mississippi, Finland’s Savonlinna International
Opera Festival for the jazz oratorio Perfect Harmony
(record & video for Finlandia Records), and the Philharmonics
of Alabama, Argentina, Chile, El Paso, and İstanbul in Gershwin’s
Porgy and Bess (soprano/baritone concert). He has also appeared
with the Battle Creek Symphony, Bel Canto Chorus and Orchestra,
Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogotá, Cayman National Orchestra,
Chautauqua Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Fort Wayne Philharmonic,
Houston Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Maryland Handel Festival,
Milwaukee Symphony, Napa Valley Symphony, the National Chorale,
New Jersey Symphony, New World Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s,
Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida, Phoenix Symphony, ProArte Chorale,
Santa Rosa Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the Vienna Philharmonic.
Mr. Craig is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association
and the American Guild of Musical Artists. |
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