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).

 

Last season, Werley joined Marble City Opera as William King (The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace), returned to Anchorage Opera as Don José (Carmen), and to  the Southern Illinois Music Festival as Ernani (Ernani in Concert) and Ruggero (La rondine).

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Coming this season, he returns to Salt Marsh Opera (Fenton, Falstaff) and St. Petersburg Opera (Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor) and makes his debut with Opera Ithaca (The Prince, Rusalka).