Profile:
Neil Craighead

Neil Craighead is a professional bass-baritone opera singer based in Vancouver, Canada. He has been a journeyman of the Canadian operatic scene since his time in the Canadian Opera Company's prestigious Ensemble Studio. His deep, powerful voice has been heard from coast to coast in operatic and concert repertoire of all kinds. Since 2019, Mr. Craighead has expanded his passion to include teaching and this past year he returned to his Alma mater, the University of British Columbia to pursue a doctorate in opera performance. He continues to be in demand as both a performer and a pedagogue. Neil is a proud father and devoted husband who enjoys collecting vinyl records and carpentry in his spare time.

Mr. Craighead was most recently heard as the Bass Soloist in Bach's B-minor Mass with the Vancouver Bach Choir, having also joined them earlier in the fall for Mozart's Requiem. In March he jumped into the production of Cosi fan tutte as Don Alfonso with Edmonton Opera and earlier this year he made his role debut as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with the UBC Opera Ensemble conducted by Gordon Gerrard. Mr. Craighead joined Orchestre Classique de Montréal and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for Handel's Messiah over the Christmas season. He was also featured in Calgary Opera's Rhythms of 17th concert series as well as Opera NUOVA's Tailgate Cabaret series in the summer.

Neil has performed with many major Canadian opera companies and symphony orchestras. He has been featured in multiple seasons at the Canadian Opera Company as Ceprano in Rigoletto, Dr. Grenville in La Traviata, O'Donoghue and Osler in Louis Riel, Sciarrone in Tosca, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, and the Oracle in Idomeneo. He is a frequent performer at Pacific Opera Victoria as well, appearing as Minskman in Flight, Don Fernando in Fidelio, and Pietro in Simon Boccanegra. 2019 saw Mr. Craighead make house debuts with Vancouver Opera and Calgary Opera as Colline in La Bohème. He made his role debut as Baron Scarpia in Tosca with Opera on the Avalon in 2018 after performances with Opera de Quebec in Carmen and Die Zauberflöte. He was nominated for a Dora Award for his portrayal of Leporello in #UncleJohn with Against the Grain Theatre in 2015.

In 2019 Neil was offered a position as an Alumni Mentor at Opera NUOVA and sparked his passion for teaching other singers. Since then he has joined the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and returned to UBC as a student in order to better his pedagogical techniques and understanding. He is frequently engaged as a clinician by private voice teachers and organizations. This summer, he will return to Opera NUOVA as a faculty member and will join the UBC Summer Opera Workshop as an instructor. Mr. Craighead continues to operate a private voice studio in Vancouver and online.