Biography
Bass-baritone Craig Irvin brings a vibrant sound and commitment to character to each role he portrays. Recently in residence with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, his assignments included Zuniga in Carmen, Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sam in A Masked Ball, and Ashby in La fanciulla del West. Additionally, he will cover the roles of Bottom, the title role in The Mikado, the title role in Hercules, and Escamillo (a role which he sings in the student matinee performance).
This summer, and the 2011-2012 season, Craig will make role and company debut with Wolf Trap Opera as the Villains in The Tales of Hoffman and Arlecchino in Wolf Ferrari’s Le donne curiouse, with Minnesota Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia in the premier of Puts new opera Silent Night, and with Cleveland Orchestra in Salome. Additional upcoming engagements include Nashville Opera in his reprisal of the role of Ashby in La fanciulla del West, as well as joining the roster of Los Angeles Opera covering the role of Paolo in Simon Boccanegra.
Craig recently sang the roles of Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and Doctor/Professor in Lulu with the company as well as Ramphis in Aida with Pensacola Opera. In the 2009-2010 season he returned for a second year with Lyric Opera of Chicago where his assignments included Angelotti in Tosca as well as covering the roles of Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro and Brander in Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust. Additionally he was seen with the Knoxville Opera as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra.
Other recent engagements include an appearance with Intermountain opera as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Naples Opera as Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and with Des Moines Metro Opera as Bottom in their production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A winner of the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor Award sponsored by Orlando Opera, Mr. Irvin spent a season with the company as a Resident Artist, and then stayed on with the company a second year as a main stage artist. During his tenure there he was seen featured as the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, Abimelech in Samson et Dalilah, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Elder Ott in Susannah, and Angelotti in Tosca. While in Orlando Mr. Irvin also sang the role of Gaston in over 700 performance of Beauty and the Beast at Walt Disney World, MGM.
Other role highlights include Private Willis in Iolanthe with Nashville Opera and Don Alhambra in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with Opera North. In the course of his graduate work at The University of Tennessee he has been seen with Knoxville Opera Company as Pooh Bah in The Mikado, Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, and Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as Reverend Blitch in Susannah and the title role in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with the Knoxville Opera Studio. A native of Iowa, Mr. Irvin did his undergraduate study at the Simpson College in Indianola under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Larsen.
