Mark
Lubas

BIOGRAPHY

 

MARK LUBAS is a stage director, voice teacher, and tenor originally from Wethersfield, CT, and is thrilled to make his University of Northern Colorado (UNC) School of Theatre and Dance directorial debut with Urinetown. Mark made his adult professional performance debut in 1996 with the Nashville Symphony as the soloist in Handel’s Messiah, and has directed and performed roles with companies including Aspen Opera Theatre Company, Boston Lyric Opera, Mobile Opera, Opéra Bastide, Opera Carolina, and Opera Tampa.

Mark is the Executive Director of Opera Fort Collins (OFC) in Fort Collins, CO, a non-profit arts organization that has been an active member of the Front Range community since its inception in 1979. As the Director and Production Manager, Mark designed and directed an Art Deco 1930’s Don Pasquale set in Fort Collins for OFC in March 2025, which was performed at the City of Fort Collins’ Lincoln Center. At the same time, Mark designed and directed an updated concept for Mozart’s The Impresario for UNC Opera Theatre. This production was reimagined not to take place in a German opera house in the late 1700’s, but rather as an audition for Vives’ Bohemios in the present at Campus Commons Performance Hall at UNC. Upcoming engagements include directing Act 2 of Carmen for an audience-participation-based New Year’s Eve soirée and toast for Opera Fort Collins at Bas Bleu Theatre in Old Town Fort Collins. Mark will then direct another OFC production, Wolf-Ferrari’s il Segreto di Susanna, set and performed in the Odell Wine Project’s tasting room in Fort Collins, CO over Valentine’s Day weekend, 2026. March and April 2026 find Mark at Boulder Opera to direct Der Rosenkavalier, as well as perform the role of the Italian Singer, at the Dairy Center in Boulder, CO. In May, Mr. Lubas will design and direct Freedom: A Dance and Staged Opera Chorus Performance, a collaboration of Opera Fort Collins and the Colorado Dance Collective. This unique performance will shine the spotlight on the oft-missed yet inspirational messages of freedom and social justice found in the music of the ensemble, enhanced with narration, staging, and dance.

At UNC to earn his doctorate in vocal performance, Mark has earned the opportunity to direct, in addition to The Impresario, Bizet’s Le docteur Miracle and Caleb Blake’s When the Birds Sing with UNC Opera Theatre, under the direction of Professor Brian Clay Luedloff. Outside of UNC, Mr. Lubas made his international directing debut when he assistant directed Mozart’s La flûte enchantée (The Magic Flute) in July of 2024 in a multi-lingual production in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Occitanie, France, in coordination with Opéra Bastide.

Mark is proud to make his parental stage debut with his 5-year old son, Noah, in December 2025 with the Sarasota Pops in Christensen’s A Christmas Carol: The Concert! Mark will reprise the role of Scrooge and Noah will play Tiny Tim. Recent local engagements include his two doctoral recitals in Milne Recital Hall at UNC in January and October of 2025, Tenor soloist in A Night at the Opera with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra in May of 2024, and Nemorino in L’Elisir D’Amore in April 2024 with the UNC Opera Theatre. Other recent engagements include Chip in Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town with Artist Series of Sarasota and Dr. Blind in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with Opera Tampa). World premiere roles include the Juror in Machover’s Resurrection (Boston Lyric Opera), and Johnnie in Hulse’s The Game (Kennedy Center). Mark would like to thank his wife Allison for her support, patience, and love, and his three sons, Jake, Alex, and Noah, for their encouragement.

 

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TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Sustained growth in student development relies on the FOUR Cs:

COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION
CONSISTENCY
CREATIVITY

These four-C’s form the foundation of both my teaching philosophy and work relationships. 

BULLET POINTS:

 

  • Students learn easily and fully in a safe, inclusive, caring, and supportive environment; that environment encourages them to take risks without fear of repercussion or failure. 
  • Once that environment is created and nurtured, learning begins. Environment encourages learning; students ask questions and experiment with critical thinking and how their bodies (instruments) make sound. 
  • Process is more important than product. 
  • Communication is instinctual, as evidenced by the fact that we scream or cry almost from the moment we are born; to stifle that instinct is counterproductive. 
  • We also breathe instinctually (breath coordination), which explains how we make it through the night alive when we fall asleep. 
  • Therefore, humans are naturally equipped to coordinate their muscles to make noise (sing); in the applied studio, I strive to help them be aware of and react to the physical sensations produced by their body while singing. 
  • The student has the tools to use their own body/instrument, and the teacher guides the student towards using those tools efficiently. 
  • Overall process outcome goals: individual growth, collective positivity and contribution to an inclusive, supportive community.