Born in Idar-Oberstein, from 1981 to 1987 Helmich studied musical theatre directing with Götz Friedrich as well as literature and musicology in Cologne and Hamburg; he received his doctorate there in 1989.
For a time, he was assistant director at the Hamburg State Opera and at the Komische Oper Berlin.
During this time, the Chemnitz Opera with its general music director Frank Beermann and the theatre under the direction of Enrico Lübbe [de] attracted attention with numerous awards and prizes.
For example, the Meyerbeer's production Vasco da Gama, a rarely performed version of the opera "The African", was awarded the Klassik-Echo.
In 2018, the house was voted North Rhine-Westphalia's Opera of the Year in the Die Welt critics' poll.