Sam
Helfrich began
his theatre career as a child actor in California, studying
at the young conservatory and performing on the main stage
at South Coast Repertory, a tony-award winning regional theatre.
As an undergraduate at Columbia University, he received a
BA in Russian language and literature, and spent six months
in Leningrad, USSR, to further his studies. After college
he moved to Spain, where he spent three years working and
studying in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona. He received
a certificate in Spanish language and literature from the
University of Barcelona. Upon returning to New York, Mr.
Helfrich studied at the 42nd Street Collective (formerly
Playwrights Horizons theatre school), where he wrote and
directed several plays for productions on the old theatre
row.
Later, he completed his
MFA in theatre arts at Columbia University’s School of the
Arts, studying with
Eduardo Machado, Anne Bogart,
Robert Woodruff, Kristen Linklater, and others. After finishing
his MFA, Mr. Helfrich began to pursue opera stage direction
full time. Proficient in both Spanish and French, he began working
in Europe immediately, assisting on new productions of several
operas in both Barcelona and Geneva, while directing his own
productions at home in New York. His first opera project was
a double bill of Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night (Argento) and
La Voix Humaine (Poulenc) at Hofstra University, followed soon
after by a production of Die Walküre (Wagner) at Riverside
Church in Manhattan.
In 2002 Mr. Helfrich formed his own theatre company, Captains
of Industry, to produce Transparency of Val, by Stephen Belber.
The production was widely acclaimed during its limited run in
2002.
Mr. Helfrich continues to direct opera
and theatre in New York and regionally at companies including
Glimmerglass Opera, Boston
Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Boston, Spoleto Festival/USA,
Berkshire Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Wolf Trap Opera and Boston
Baroque Orchestra, among others. Recent opera highlights include
the world premiere of Michael Dellaira's The Secret Agent at
Center for Contemporary Opera in New York and the Armel Opera
Festival in Hungary, Don Giovanni with Yale Opera, The
Turn of the Screw at Boston Lyric Opera, Philip Glass' Orphée at Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Virginia Opera, Anthony
Davis’ Amistad at Spoleto Festival/USA, and Aida at Opera Omaha.
Upcoming projects include a fully staged production of Handel's
Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony, a new production of Nixon
in China with Eugene Opera, and the American premier of Kepler,
a new work by Philip Glass, at Spoleto Festival/USA. In theater,
his recent off-Broadway production of Tape, by Stephen Belber,
played to wide acclaim. In addition, Mr. Helfrich has recently
held guest-teaching positions at Yale University, NYU, and Manhattan
School of Music.
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