Rod Gilfry is a two-time Grammy nominee, singer and actor who has performed in all the world's music capitals and appears on over 30 recordings. He is acclaimed world-wide in opera, musicals, recitals and cabaret. An important part of his 75-role repertoire are the13leading roles he has created in new operas. Recent performances include the Los Angeles Opera productions of David Lang's solo opera the loser and Matthew Aucoin's Crossing, and Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life at the San Francisco Opera. He recently created the role of Claudius in Brett Dean's Hamlet at the Glyndebourne and Adelaide Festivals, a role he will reprise this season at the Metropolitan Opera. His last appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel. In the summer of 2019 he began a tour of Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light with soprano Renée Fleming at the Tanglewood Festival, which was later performed with the National Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the Dallas and Baltimore Symphonies. Future performances of The Brightness of Light are scheduled for the Aspen Festival, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Los Angeles Opera and the Oregon Symphony. This season he appeared as the Marquis de la Force in Houston Grand Opera’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. He will be Robert McNamara in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Rift at the Washington National Opera, and Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera. Future seasons will find Mr. Gilfry singing Alfonso in Così fan Tutte with the Dallas Opera, Scarpia in the Houston Grand Opera’s Tosca, Claudius in Dean’s Hamlet and Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Munich State Opera. He was born and raised in Southern California. He earned advanced degrees from California State University Fullerton and the University of Southern California. From 1987 to 1989 he was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble, and from 1989 to 1994 he was a member of the Zurich Opera ensemble. Mr. Gilfry is in his 14th year as a Professor of Vocal Arts at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, but will retire from that position in December 2022 to make more time for performing.