Arthur Woodley
The American bass Arthur Woodley has been acclaimed for his performances in both opera and concert.
This season, Mr. Woodley makes his debut at the New Orleans Opera as the title role in Britten’s Noyd’s Fludde and returns to the Seattle Opera as Crespel in Les contes d’Hoffmann. He recently won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Emille Griffith in the world premiere of Terrance Blanchard’s Champion at the Opera Theater of St. Louis.
Mr. Woodley has appeared with prestigious opera companies all over the United States including the San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. His many roles have included Varlaam in Boris Godunov, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Kuno in Der Freischütz, Banquo in Macbeth, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Sulpice in La fille du régiment, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Rocco in Fidelio, Publio in La clemenza di Tito, Angelotti in Tosca, Achillas in Giulio Cesare, and Dansker in Billy Budd.
Mr. Woodley has a distinguished history with the role of Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He sang the role in concert with the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and on tour in Italy, including Santa Cecilia in Rome, with Yuri Temirkanov. In staged performances, he has appeared with the Opera Philadelphia, the Indianapolis Opera, Opera Colorado, the Bregenz Festival, the Savolinna International Festival in Finland, and the Catfish Row Opera Company of Charleston, in a gala celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opera’s debut.
In concert, Mr. Woodley has appeared with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Modesto Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, the Collegiate Chorale at Lincoln Center, and at the Bard Music Festival. He also sang the world premiere of God, Mississippi and Medgar Evers with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and was the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Mexico City with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Mr. Woodley was born in New York City and raised in Saint Croix. He currently resides in Montclair, New Jersey.
