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Other recent international projects include Lucia di Lammermoor with the Korean National Symphony, Turandot and Tosca at the Seoul Arts Center, and Le Nozze di Figaro for the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. For Daegu Opera, he led an all-new production of Così fan tutte featuring young artists from the conservatories of Vienna, Stuttgart, Milan, and Shanghai. In Tokyo, he directed Japanese translations of Company, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Little Shop of Horrors at Maeda Hall. His additional stage directing work includes past engagements at The Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera North, Opera Naples, Ohio Light Opera, and Center City Opera of Philadelphia. He has been fortunate to collaborate with many brilliant conductors, including Julian Kovatchev, John Fiore, Nicolas Ellis, and Shao-Chia Lü.

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​As a member of Actor’s Equity, Stephen's performance credits include New York, touring, and regional productions of Ragtime, Cabaret (London), Jesus Christ Superstar (European Tour), and The Scarlet Pimpernel. He can be heard on recordings for the Newport Classics label. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM Voice, MM Stage Directing), the Royal Academy of Music, London (PGD Musical Theatre, LRAM), York University (PhD Musicology and Ethnomusicology), and the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program of the Washington National Opera.​

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Stephen spent eight years as Associate Artistic Director of Eastman Opera Theatre and Associate Professor of Opera and Musical Theatre Studies at the Eastman School of Music. His productions at Eastman included The Turn of the Screw, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Don Giovanni, Orfeo ed Euridice, Suor Angelica, and Les Dialogues des Carmélites, which was awarded the American Prize for Stage Directing. A champion of new works and living composers, Stephen also directed productions of Kevin Putz's Elizabeth Cree, Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza, and Into the Fire, a collection of staged chamber works by composer Jake Heggie. During the Covid pandemic, he staged and filmed original programs of the solo vocal music of Missy Mazzoli, Ben Moore, and Anthony Davis, curated in collaboration with the composers. 

 

Stephen also served on the faculty of the Interlochen Summer Arts Institute as Artistic Director of the Operetta Program. From 2009-2013 he lived in Tokyo, helping to create and launch the undergraduate musical theatre program at the Senzoku Gakuen Conservatory of Music. With graduates now starring in the Tokyo productions of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and The Lion King, as well as in international film and television, the program has grown to become one of the leading undergraduate degrees of its kind in Asia.​

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Born in the United States, Stephen now calls Canada home. He lives in Toronto, and recently served as Director of Development and Engagement for Toronto City Opera. He teaches courses at the University of Toronto's School of Music and at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is the editor of the recently published Libretti of Russian Operas, Vol. 2 and a contributor to Cambridge University Press's forthcoming Sondheim in Performance.