James Blaszko is a first-generation American director and creative producer whose work in opera, theatre, film, and concert exemplifies his passion for civic engagement through daring and wit. His artistic practice of innovation and inclusion stems from early exposure to diverse arts and culture throughout his Polish-Pakistani upbringing.

Previously at Detroit Opera, Blaszko staged Xerxes under the baton of Dame Jane Glover and served as Associate Director for Yuval Sharon’s reverse-order La bohème and AI-inspired Così fan tutte. He is also the founder of Detroit-born Apotheculture Club, which promotes a positive culture around attending performing arts and the legal consumption of cannabis.

Internationally, he staged Puccini’s Il Trittico for the Daegu International Opera Festival (South Korea) and devised/co-wrote We Count, the opening ceremony of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Zimbabwe), in response to President Mugabe’s removal in a military coup.

Blaszko has directed two Independence Day concerts for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: Tamar-kali’s Freedom is a Constant Struggle highlighting the African-American struggle to reap the benefits of liberty and justice as part of the American citizenry, and Lara Downes’ Declaration Project in commemoration of America250. Lincoln Center also commissioned Blaszko to direct and co-write the opening of their 2024 Summer for the City Festival: SOUNDCAKE starring the classically trained queens of MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race.

James worked as a creative producer for ArtsEmerson, Boston’s leading presenter of contemporary world theatre, and Harlem Stage, a dynamic hub of artistic experimentation dedicated to empowering performing artists of the Global Majority. In 2023 he produced Liza Jessie Peterson’s The Peculiar Patriot at Detroit Public Theatre; its first stop since the notorious shutdown performance at Louisiana State Penitentiary and subsequent Oscar-shortlisted documentary Angola Do You Hear Us?, now streaming on Paramount Plus. He continues to produce the play in theatres and prisons alongside Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Lena Waithe.

Blaszko has directed in opera houses across America, including the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, and Spoleto Festival USA. He was the 2019 Kurt Weill Foundation Directing Fellow, assisting Tony Award-winning director John Doyle on a new production of Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock.

He is a graduate of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Emerson College, and has lived in Central Harlem for the past 15 years.