Biography
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Scottish lyric baritone Arthur Bruce is a former Emerging Artist at Scottish Opera.
Recent engagements include Don Giovanni [cover + Access performances] (Don Giovanni); Schaunard (La bohème); Guglielmo (Così fan tutte); Belcore (L'elisir d'amore); Ford [cover] (Falstaff); Antonio (The Gondoliers); Phantis (Utopia, Limited); Angus (The Narcissistic Fish); Un Cenciaiuolo (Iris); David (Amadeus & the Bard), & Opera Highlights Spring & Autumn 2020, all for Scottish Opera; Wolfram (Tannhäuser) for Saffron Opera Group; Artidoro (Gli sposi malcontenti) for Bampton Classical Opera; title rôle (Gianni Schicchi) for the RCS Alexander Gibson Opera School; Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) with Berlin Opera Academy; Zurga (Les pêcheurs de perles) & Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana) for Edinburgh Grand Opera; Kuligin (Kát'a Kabanová) for Fulham Opera Workshops; Pierre Lafitte in the European première of Amy Beach's Cabildo with Opera Eos (now New Voices Theatre); Donner (Das Rheingold), & Der Einäugige (Die Frau ohne Schatten) with Edinburgh Players Opera Group; Sam (Trouble in Tahiti) with both RNCM Chamber Opera & the RCS Alexander Gibson Opera School; Prince Yamadori (Madama Butterfly) at Bowdon Festival Opera. Arthur also sang in gala concerts as part of Søholm Opera's 2019 'Opera in Unlikely Places' festival on the island of Samsø in Denmark.
Arthur is a Samling Artist, a Britten—Pears Young Artist, and a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Alexander Gibson Opera School, and English National Opera's 'Opera Works' programme. In 2018 Arthur was in the final round of the 'Concorso per il Biennio di perfezionamento per cantanti lirici' at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
At the Emmy Destinn Young Singers Awards 2023, Arthur won the Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Music Prize. Whilst at the RNCM, Arthur won the John Cameron Prize for Lieder and the Kate Snape Scholarship, as well being a finalist in the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award for Singers, the RNCM Gold Medal Competition and the College's Concerto competition.
During his studies Arthur took part in various masterclasses, with highlights including those with Sir Simon Keenlyside, Thomas Quasthoff, Nadine Secunde, Roderick Williams, Sir John Tomlinson, David Owen Norris, and Jeffrey Black.
Arthur is a strong advocate for contemporary music and enjoys collaborating with composers. He recently commissioned a piece by renowned Boosey and Hawkes composer, David Horne. He has premiered works by David Horne, Tom Harrold, Eve Harrison, Stephen Deazley, Samuel Bordoli, and John Goldie-Scot.
His oratorio repertoire includes the requiems of Brahms, Duruflé, Fauré, Mozart and Michael Haydn, Bach's St. John Passion (Christus/Pilatus), Delius' Sea Drift, Dove's Arion and the Dolphin, Dvořák's Stabat Mater, Finzi's In terra pax, Handel's Messiah & Samson, Hummel's Mass in C, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Orff's Carmina Burana, Parry's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, Rossini's Petite messe solennelle, Stainer's The Crucifixion, Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs, Serenade to Music and Fantasia on Christmas Carols, as well as the narration in Krzysztof Penderecki's Symphony No 7 ‘Seven Gates of Jerusalem’.
Arthur's studies were generously supported by the Robertson Trust, a Help Musicians UK Sybil Tutton Opera Award, and the Daniel Derby Wood Fund.