Mark Freiman
Stage Director
BIO
New York City native Mark Freiman is an accomplished opera stage director and lyric bass whose work has been praised for its dramatic clarity, musical intelligence, and deep understanding of singers onstage. In the 2025–26 season, he makes his debut with Indianapolis Opera directing Rigoletto, and returns to First Coast Opera (Florida) to both direct and sing the role of Zuniga in Carmen. During the 2024–25 season, he directed The Barber of Seville for First Coast Opera and returned to Union Avenue Opera (St. Louis) to direct Salome, with BroadwayWorld noting, “He’s a veteran and knows his stuff.”
Mr. Freiman has directed a wide-ranging repertory for companies across the United States, including The Magic Flute, The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Serva Padrona, Norma, The Daughter of the Regiment, Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor, and La Bohème for Sarasota Opera, where he also served as stage director for the Apprentice Artists program; Nabucco, Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, and La Bohème for Union Avenue Opera—the latter earning the 2020 St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Production of an Opera; Così fan Tutte for Mobile Opera; The Marriage of Figaro for Nickel City Opera (Buffalo); Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Otello, Il Trovatore, Die Fledermaus, and The Pearl Fishers for Winter Opera St. Louis; Bolcom’s Lucrezia for Gateway Opera (St. Louis); and La Bohème for Muddy River Opera and the Southern Illinois Music Festival.
Alongside his directing career, Mr. Freiman maintains an active performance profile as a lyric bass. A recipient of the prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, he appeared on the Sony Newport Classics recording of The Ballad of Baby Doe and in the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s filmed production of Gianni Schicchi. His singing career includes two U.S. national tours of The Barber of Seville with the New York City Opera National Company and performances with opera companies throughout North America, including Sarasota, Kansas City, Ft. Worth, Virginia, Nashville, Central City, Mobile, Tri-Cities, Saskatchewan, and the Caramoor Festival.
Equally at home in musical theater, Mr. Freiman appeared in the German-language production of The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg and at St. Louis’ Muny in Titanic: The Musical. His concert appearances include performances with the St. Louis Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Carnegie Hall, and international orchestras in Peru and beyond.
A former Metropolitan Opera child soloist, he sang a solo in the company’s first-ever live telecast (La Bohème with Luciano Pavarotti). He trained at New York’s Amato Opera and made his professional debut in the title role of The Marriage of Figaro.