Praised by The Huffington Post for his “ringing high notes,” Texas-born tenor Bille Bruley has garnered attention for his strength and versatility across operatic repertoire, from baroque to contemporary. His 2024/25 season includes a debut at The Metropolitan Opera in a new production of Salome (First Jew), directed by Claus Guth and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, as well as a return to Utah Opera for Sweeney Todd (Beadle Bamford). Future seasons will see debuts with Houston Grand Opera and Opera Colorado.

Last season, Bruley made his debut at San Francisco Opera in Mason Bates and Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Steve Wozniak) and joined the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for Jenufa. On the concert stage, he debuted with the Houston Symphony in Salome (First Jew) and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Mozart’s Requiem.

Other recent highlights include his role debut as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at Arizona Opera and returns to Austin Opera for Sweeney Todd (Beadle) and The Santa Fe Opera for Der fliegende Holländer (Steuermann). Bruley also made role and house debuts in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Steve Wozniak) with Austin Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and The Atlanta Opera, and returned to Arizona Opera for Così fan tutte (Ferrando). He joined the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for Dead Man Walking to cover Father Grenville and Howard Boucher and returned to Arizona Opera for Shining Brow (Louis Sullivan) and Riders of the Purple Sage (Bern Venters).

Previous seasons included Britten’s War Requiem with the Tulsa Symphony, a program of Mozart arias with the Phoenix Symphony, and a return to The Santa Fe Opera where he created the role of Benjamin in the world premiere of Poul Ruders’ The Thirteenth Child.

Bruley has been an Apprentice Artist at The Santa Fe Opera, covering roles in Candide (Governor/Vanderendur/Captain) and Doctor Atomic (Captain Nolan), directed by Peter Sellars. As a member of the Young Artist Program at The Glimmerglass Festival, he performed in Christopher Alden’s production of Sweeney Todd (Beadle Bamford) and Robert Ward’s The Crucible (Giles Corey). He was also an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera, singing in Britten’s The Prodigal Son (The Tempter) and The Burning Fiery Furnace (King Nebuchadnezzar).

At Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio during the 2018-2019 season, Bruley’s assignments included roles in Così fan tutte, La traviata, and Silent Night. He was also an apprentice artist at Virginia Opera, where his performances included Samson et Dalila, La fanciulla del West, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucia di Lammermoor, and The Seven Deadly Sins, and he appeared with Baltimore Choral Arts as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Dixit Dominus under the baton of Anthony Blake Clark. Bruley has been a Guest Artist with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, where he enjoyed major success in the title role of Britten’s Peter Grimes with Indiana University Opera Theater.

A native of Montgomery, Texas, Bille Bruley is a graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and Baylor University.

Bille Bruley
Bille Bruley, Tenor