CRAIG VERM is rapidly gaining recognition for his “resonant, expressive baritone voice” (Denver Post) and riveting dramatic portrayals. In the 2011/12 season, he sings his first performances of Escamillo in Carmen at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago and Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles in a return to Pittsburgh Opera. He also returns to the role of Ping in Turandot with Austin Lyric Opera in addition to singing Sciarrone in Tosca and presenting a recital at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. On the concert stage, he sings Marullo in this concert performance of Rigoletto in a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Handel’s Messiah with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as a guest artist at Brown University.

Verm’s future engagements include returns to the Teatro Municipal de Santiago for the title role of Billy Budd and Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse for Sid in Albert Herring as well as debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Albert in Werther and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Last season, he sang his first performances of Ramiro in L’heure espagnole with the Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands and the Miller in Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas with Gotham Chamber Opera. He also returned to Florentine Opera for Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas and Adonis in Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Pittsburgh Opera for Ping in Turandot, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Mandarin in Turandot in addition to singing Gounod’s Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile with Les Escales Musicales d’Evian.

Verm enjoys a strong relationship with Pittsburgh Opera, where he has sung the lead baritone role of Tom Joad in Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, the Novice’s Friend in Billy Budd, and Angelotti in Tosca as well as Guglielmo in student performances of Così fan tutte. Equally adept within the realm of oratorio, his other concert appearances encompass performances of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Pittsburgh Symphony; Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra; Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Alexandria Symphony; Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Boston Youth Symphony; and Bach’s Mass in B minor at Portugal’s Aviero Music Festival, as well as Fauré’s Requiem with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony and Schubert’s Mass in G, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, and Rutter’s Mass of the Children with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale. He has also sung Haydn’s Creation with the Robert Page Festival Singers at the Virginia Arts Festival as well as on tour in Vienna and Budapest, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in Cincinnati, and Handel’s Messiah in Houston.

He received his Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, where his performances included title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Markheim. He graduated cum laude from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He was a 2006 national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is also a former member of the young artist programs of Santa Fe Opera and Cincinnati Opera.