American Character tenor, Thomas Cilluffo, is quickly garnering praise for his powerful voice and impressive acting.

The 2022-2023 season marks Mr. Cilluffo’s European debut with both Teatro Regio Torino and Deutsche Oper Berlin in productions such as Lucia di Lammermoor, Aïda, Die Zauberflöte, Nabucco, Powder Her Face, The Tsar’s Bride, Francesca da Rimini, Carmen, Rigoletto, & more. In America, he recently performed with the Santa Fe Opera as Bardolfo in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Falstaff. He will also perform the roles of Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the Lakes Area Music Festival, and Spoletta in The Dallas Opera’s production of Puccini’s Tosca.

Mr. Cilluffo also made a triumphant last-minute debut as Bardolfo in Falstaff at the Staatsoper Stuttgart.

Mr. Cilluffo will return to Europe in early 2024 to sing the roles of Abner, High Priest, Amalekite, & Doeg in Barrie Kosky’s production of Händel’s Saul (as originally produced at Glyndebourne) with the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen.

A dark horse in competition, Mr. Cilluffo received first place in the 2022 Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition, was a quarterfinalist in the 2022 Operalia Competition, quarterfinalist in the 2023 Tenor Viñas Competition, was a winner of the 2022 Opera Foundation Competition as well as the 2022 Career Bridges Competition; and was a finalist in the 2022 George London Foundation Competition, the 2022 Gerda Lissner Opera Competition, the 2022 Giulio Gari Competition, and the 2021 Gerda Lissner Lieder Competition.

Role credits include Belfiore in La finta giardiniera, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Spoletta in Tosca, the Witch in Hansel & Gretel, Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the title role in Roméo et Juliette with opera companies including Portland Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, and Opera Colorado.

A jack-of-all-trades, Mr. Cilluffo began making what he calls “Selfie-Operas,” which are essentially short opera scenes produced and performed entirely by him as a way to bring opera up close and personal to people who were confined to their homes, due to the pandemic. (These can be seen on his “Media” page)

Mr. Cilluffo is also an avid craftsman and enjoys making jewelry, woodworking, and blacksmithing. For nearly a decade, Mr. Cilluffo has worked as a craftsman of bespoke conducting batons for orchestral and choral conductors around the world. (More information can be found on his “BaToms” page.)

Thomas Cilluffo received his BM / MM from the University of Michigan where he studied under the legendary tenor, George Shirley.