Benjamin Werley — praised as having a “gleaming, flexible tenor” (Opera News)—was first bitten by the opera bug while attending a performance of Puccini’s Tosca. He has been pursuing an operatic career ever since.

 

A graduate of the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University, Werley was one of twenty singers nationwide selected to sing in the semi-finals of the 2012-2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City. Afterwards, he participated in many prestigious young artist programs, including the Merola Opera Program, Santa Fe Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Prelude to Performance. He has also been a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Dayton Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Western Piedmont Symphony, and the Queens Symphony Orchestra.

 

Recent career highlights include Cavaradossi (Tosca – St. Pete Opera, Anchorage Opera) Vaudémont (Iolanta - Pacific Opera Project), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore - Dayton Opera), Narraboth (Salome – Dayton Opera) Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni - Indianapolis Opera), Herod (Salome- Southern Illinois Music Festival), Canio (Pagliacci - Salt Marsh Opera), Alfredo (La Traviata - Cleveland Opera Theater), Red Whiskers (Billy Budd - Central City Opera), Lippo Fiorentino (Street Scene - Virginia Opera), and the tenor solos for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra).

 

Coming up, Werley will perform with Marble City Opera in the spring as William King (The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace), and return to Anchorage Opera as Don José (Carmen). Werley returns to the Southern Illinois Music Festival this summer to sing Ernani (Ernani) in concert, as well as Ruggero (La rondine).