Collaborative pianist and opera coach Damien Francoeur-Krzyzek lives in Boston, where he currently holds the title of Principal Coach at Boston Lyric Opera. Originally from Denver, Mr. Francoeur-Krzyzek received a Bachelor’s Degree in French and Spanish from the University of Colorado before turning his attention to the study of singing. As a Master of Music candidate in vocal performance at the University of Denver, he performed the roles of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Danilo in The Merry Widow, the title role of Gianni Schicchi and Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief.

Drawing from his language skills and a lifetime of piano studies, Mr. Francoeur-Krzyzek began coaching and playing for fellow singers at the University of Denver, and in the summer of 2004 he was accepted to the prestigious Merola Young Artist Program at the San Francisco Opera as an apprentice coach. During the following two years he studied collaborative piano at the University of Michigan under world-renowned pianist Martin Katz. In 2005 he performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage series.

Having completed a Specialist of Music Degree in Vocal Accompanying at the University of Michigan, Mr. Francoeur-Krzyzek relocated to Boston in 2006, where he made his professional operatic debut as assistant conductor and rehearsal pianist for Boston Lyric Opera’s Madama Butterfly. Subsequent productions for BLO have included Le Nozze di Figaro, Rusalka, The Turn of the Screw and Ariadne auf Naxos.

In 2008 Mr. Francoeur-Krzyzek made his Opera Colorado debut with Don Pasquale, and joined the music staff at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis during the summer of that same year.

In addition to his operatic duties, Mr. Francoeur-Krzyzek has coached and performed with young singers at Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory and Boston University, and has privately coached numerous professional singers for operatic roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera and New York City Opera. He has studied and coached more than ten languages to date, including Czech, Dutch, Catalan and Polish.