Winning critical acclaim for “vocal heft, clarion sound and stamina” (New York Times) and for performances described as “close to perfection – powerful, subtle, intelligent, every word crystal clear” (Financial Times), American Heldentenor Clay Hilley continues to garner success in an ever-growing list of opera’s most monumental heroic roles.

After stepping into the premiere of Bayreuth’s new Götterdämmerung at one day’s notice in 2022, Hilley returned to the Bayreuth Festival in 2023 as Tristan, one of several Wagnerian roles now featuring prominently in his operatic diary. The 2023-24 season also sees his role debuts as Walther (Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg) for the Deutsche Oper Berlin under conductor Ulf Schirmer and the title role of Tannhäuser at the Edinburgh International Festival in a concert performance with Sir Donald Runnicles and the Deutsche Oper Berlin; a house debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in the title role of Parsifal, conducted by Adam Fischer; and a return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Siegfried in a revival of Stefan Herheim’s production of Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Beyond Wagner, Clay Hilley also appears this season as Beethoven’s Florestan (Fidelio) for the Canadian Opera Company, with conductor Johannes Debus, Strauss’s Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Hong Kong Arts Festival with the orchestra of the Bayerische Staatsoper under Patrick Lange, and makes his Staatsoper Hamburg debut as Laca in Janáček’s Jenůfa, in performances conducted by Tomáš Netopil.

Vocally and dramatically assured in even the most challenging repertoire, recent high-profile role debuts include Der Kaiser in Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko, both in concert at the Berlin Philharmonie and in a new staging by Lydia Steier at the Baden-Baden Festival, and the Drum Major in Deborah Warner’s new production of Berg’s Wozzeck for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, conducted by Music Director Sir Antonio Pappano – also the tenor’s company debut.

An artist accomplished on the world’s leading concert stages, recent highlights include Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with Marin Alsop and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, and Das Lied von der Erde, with the Houston Symphony and Juraj Valčuha, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Stéphane Denève, and with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano – where he subsequently returned for Kodaly’s Psalmus Hungaricus.

Concert performances of opera are also a fixture: Clay Hilley has been heard in recent seasons as Florestan (Fidelio) for both Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano and the Edinburgh International Festival with Sir Donald Runnicles and The Philharmonia; in Act Two of Tristan und Isolde with Edward Gardner and the Orchestra of the Norwegian National Opera; in Act Three of Siegfried with Erik Nielsen and the Bilbao Symphony; and as Radamès in Act Three of Aida with Nicola Luisotti and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

The tenor’s burgeoning video catalogue includes Der Ring des Nibelungen from Deutsche Oper Berlin (Naxos) - about which Opera News wrote, “Vocally, he’s the finest Siegfried on DVD, with ringing top notes, perfect diction and impressive tonal flexibility” - and Götterdämmerung filmed at the Bayreuth Festival (Deutsche Grammophon).