OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY

BILLE BRULEY

Praised by the Huffington Post for his “ringing high notes,” Texas-born tenor Bille Bruley has garnered attention for his strength and versatility in operatic repertoire from baroque to contemporary.

Praised by the Huffington Post for his “ringing high notes,” Texas-born tenor Bille Bruley has garnered attention for his strength and versatility in operatic repertoire from baroque to contemporary. Highlights of Bille’s upcoming 2023-2024 season include finishing the run of Santa Fe Opera’s riveting production of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, a house debut at San Francisco Opera for his signature role of Steve Wozniak in Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a return to the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for Janacek’s Jenüfa, and a role debut in Die Walküre with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He will also appear in concert with Fort Wayne Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem, and with Houston Symphony for a stage production of Strauss’ Salome.

Bille’s 2022-23 season featured a return to Arizona Opera as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and the orchestral workshop of Gregg Kallor’s new opera Frankenstein in the role of Victor Frankenstein. He then came home to Texas to portray Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd with Austin Opera. Bille debuted with Utah Opera in one of his signature roles – Steve Wozniak in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, just before he returned to Santa Fe Opera to mount Steuermann in David Alden’s new production of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer.

Mr. Bruley’s 2021-2022 season included a number of rescheduled major house debuts at Austin Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Atlanta Opera in the role of Steve Wozniak in Mason Bates’ acclaimed The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs where he was described as “flawless - His voice crisp and sweet as a Braeburn dusted with cane sugar” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). He also made his return to Arizona Opera as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte. Other hopeful rescheduled engagements from COVID-19-related cancellations include a concert debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the Sailor/Shepherd in The Tristan Project, as well as his house debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Sam Polk in a new production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. Bille is a recent winner of the William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation Award and Career Grant.

Bille is a recent alumnus of the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio, where his role assignments in previous seasons included include Louis Sullivan in Shining Brow, Bern Venters in Riders of the Purple Sage, and Brighella and Bacchus (cover) in Ariadne auf Naxos. In his abridged 2019-2020 season, Bille was engaged at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he covered Father Grenville and Howard Boucher in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. In the summer of 2019, Bille returned to the Santa Fe Opera as a second-year Apprentice Artist. There, he created the role of Benjamin in the world premiere of Poul Ruders’ The Thirteenth Child and was met with critical acclaim, praised by Opera Today for his “exuberant, substantial tenor” and his “dramatic commitment [which] made him an audience favorite.” While at Santa Fe, Bille also covered the role of Laca Klemen in Janacek’s Jenufa and performed as Lennie in scenes from Of Mice and Men.

Mr. Bruley’s 2018-2019 season saw his first War Requiem with the Tulsa Symphony as well as several engagements with Arizona Opera—as Gastone in La Traviata, Jonathan Dale in Silent Night, Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, and as Ferrando in their studio production of Così fan tutte. In the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Bruley was engaged as an Apprentice Singer with the Santa Fe Opera, where he covered the roles of Captain Nolan in Doctor Atomic and Governor/Vanderdendur/Captain in Candide. He was also featured on their Apprentice Scenes showcase as the title role in Peter Grimes. He returned to Virginia Opera for a number of role debuts, including First Philistine in Samson et Dalila, Trin in La fanciulla del West, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He later joined Baltimore Choral Arts as a tenor soloist in Handel’s Dixit Dominus under the baton of newly-appointed director Anthony Blake Clark.

Mr. Bruley has received special acclaim for his interpretation of the works of Benjamin Britten, including the title role in Peter Grimes, King Nebuchadnezzar in The Burning Fiery Furnace, The Tempter in The Prodigal Son, and as the tenor soloist in Britten’s War Requiem. Of his performance as King Nebuchadnezzar with Central City Opera, The Daily Camera wrote, “His voice is radiant, his enunciation impeccable. Every word he sings is easily understood and every note is precise in pitch.”

An alumnus of young artist programs at The Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Central City Opera, Mr. Bruley has received recognition through a number of young artist awards, including the Richard Tucker Memorial Award from the Santa Fe Opera and the Iris Henwood Richards Memorial Award from the Central City Opera House Association. In 2018, Mr. Bruley was a finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. He has taken home prizes from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as a winner of the Gulf Coast Regional Finals and as a finalist and winner in the Lois Alba Aria Competition. He was also named a 2018-2019 winner of The William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation Award and Career Grant.

Mr. Bruley received his undergraduate training at Baylor University, where he studied under Robert Best, and completed his graduate work at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Carol Vaness. A native of Montgomery, Texas, Bille recently earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. He is now based in NYC with his husband, Steve, and their two dogs, Beethoven and Winston, where he serves as Assistant Professor of Voice & Opera at the Mason Gross School of the Arts – Rutgers University.