Sam Helfrich is a New York-based opera and theatre director.
He has directed opera productions at New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival/USA, Virginia Opera, Opera Boston, Pittsburgh Opera, and Wolf Trap, among others. Recent opera highlights include the world premiere of PermaDeath, a CGI- based opera about video gaming with White Snake Productions in Boston; the world premiere of Jeffrey Smith’s Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me at Urban Arias in Washington DC; Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the Indianapolis Symphony; a staging of Haydn’s Creation with the Pittsburgh Symphony; the New York premiere of Angels in America at New York City Opera; the world premiere of Dan Sonenberg's The Summer King at Pittsburgh Opera (and, recently, at Michigan Opera Theater); Bach’s St. John Passion with the Pittsburgh Symphony; Mark Anthony Turnage’s Greek at Boston Lyric Opera; Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at Virginia Opera; the world premiere of Enemies: A Love Story by Ben Moore, at Palm Beach Opera; Embedded, by composer Patrick Soluri, at Fargo-Moorhead Opera; Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Virginia Opera; Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at Eugene Opera; Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire at Virginia Opera; the American premiere of Philip Glass’ Kepler at Spoleto Festival/USA; Adams’ Nixon in China at Eugene Opera; a fully staged Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony; the world premiere of Michael Dellaira’s The Secret Agent at Center for Contemporary Opera in New York, the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, and Opera Avignon; The Turn of the Screw at Boston Lyric Opera; Philip Glass’ Orphée at Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, Portland Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera; and Anthony Davis’ Amistad at Spoleto Festival/USA.
Recent theatre credits include Arthur Miller’s After The Fall at NYU/Tisch Grad Acting; off-Broadway productions of Owned, a world premier play by Julian Sheppard, and Tape, by Stephen Belber, both of which played to wide audience- and critical acclaim; and a double bill of plays by Shaw and De Musset at the Franklin Stage Company.
Upcoming projects include a world premiere in development with the Sardinian National Opera and the Hungarian State Opera, as well as a return to Boston Baroque for Handel’s Ariodante.
