+++
discipline = "Tenor"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1647395143/media/2022/03/BillieBruley_u0w6rz.jpg"
primary_image_credit = ""
related_companies = []
slug = "billie-bruley"
title = "Billie Bruley"
website = "https://www.billebruley.com/"
[[social_media]]
platform = "Instagram"
template = "social-media"
url = "https://www.instagram.com/billebruley/"
[[social_media]]
platform = "Youtube"
template = "social-media"
url = "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBs6yckg15nuHGIiitqcGqQ"

+++
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 2021-2022 season include 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_. He also makes his return to Arizona Opera as Ferrando in _Cosi fan tutte_. Other upcoming engagements to be rescheduled 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 is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona, where he lives with his husband, Steve, and their two dogs, Beethoven and Winston.