Neil Craighead’s career has taken him coast to coast, from Vancouver to Newfoundland, featured in a diverse array of opera from Puccini to Somers. Recent engagements include returns to Calgary Opera as Masetto/Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Vancouver Opera as both the Minskman in Dove’s Flight and Monterone in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Opera Kelowna for Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, and Edmonton Opera as Wotan in their presentations of Wagner’s Die Walküre, Das Rheingold, and Siegfried. In the 26/27 season, Neil makes returns to both Vancouver Opera and Pacific Opera Victoria for Puccini’s Tosca (Angelotti) and Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Sprecher) respectively.

On the concert stage, he joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah, the Kamloops Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem, Victoria Philharmonic Choir for Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass, Victoria Baroque for Bach’s St. John Passion, and the Vancouver Oratorio Society for Hadyn’s Creation.

Other recent highlights include Sarastro for Vancouver Opera’s Die Zauberflöte, Pacific Opera Victoria for Tripaldi in Golijov’s Ainadamar, and the Vancouver Bach Choir for Handel’s Messiah. Neil’s 2022-23 season included appearances with Pacific Opera Victoria in their new production of Carmen, with Vancouver Opera for Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Vancouver Bach Choir for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

Highlights from past seasons include Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte with Edmonton Opera; Colline in La bohème for Calgary Opera, Vancouver Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company; Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte and Zuniga in Carmen for Opéra de Québec; Scarpia in Tosca with Opera on the Avalon; and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto with the Canadian Opera Company. Other Pacific Opera Victoria credits include their productions of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Dove’s Flight.

In concert, Neil has recently joined the Vancouver Bach Choir for Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah,and Bach’s B Minor Mass, as well as the Orchestre classique de Montréal and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.

Equally at home in newer works, Mr. Craighead was featured in the COC’s landmark new production of Somers’s Louis Riel celebrating Canada’s Sesquicentennial and Tapestry Opera’s premiere of Oksana G. For Against the Grain Theatre he was Leporello in Mozart’s Don Goivanni, retitled #UncleJohn. An alumnus of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, further credits include Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte for Edmonton Opera, and the roles of Somnus and Cadmus in the COC’s Semele, whichtook him to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. 

July 2026
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