This season baritone Craig Verm makes his debut at Seiji Ozawa’s Ongaku-juku Festival in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro as Count Almaviva, and joins Nashville Opera as Zurga in Bizet’s Les pêcheur de perles (The Pearl Fishers). Mr. Verm will also return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Glass’ the CIVIL WarS, and Pittsburgh Opera as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Last season he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Albert in Massanet’s Werther, and returned to the Teatro Municipal de Santiago as the title role in Britten’s Billy Budd, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring, and Florentine Opera as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. His other recent engagements on the opera stage include leading roles with Nationale Reisopera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Florentine Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Opera Philadelphia. Mr. Verm previously appeared with Gotham Chamber Opera as the Miller in El gato con botas.