Long before he was born, Clay Hilley’s maternal grandmother, Margie Ferguson, prayed for a musical grandchild.
“My joke is, because of those prayers, I’m the one that ended up with all the music school and conservatory debt,” Hilley says.
He is also, without a doubt, a musical superstar.
Today, Hilley BMus ’04 is a critically acclaimed, world-famous opera singer. From his base in Berlin, he has traveled the world expanding his repertoire of opera’s most famous heroes including the titular roles of Samson, Tristan, and Siegfried. From classic Beethoven, Mozart, and Wagner operas to more modern and experimental works, he does it all.
Clay Hilley debuted on the Athens stage at the age of 15. Today, he performs in Europe’s most legendary opera houses. (Photo by Dasha Buben Photography)
But Hilley’s journey started in Statham with Margie. Not content to rely solely on her prayers, she bribed her 5-year-old grandson with a piano of his own.
“Not terribly long after, probably because of those seeds planted, I would start noticing the pianist at church on Sunday,” Hilley says.
He was mesmerized by the way the pianist’s hands moved effortlessly across the keys. Soon after, he began piano lessons.
He made his debut at 15 with the Athens Choral Society (now known as the Classic City Community Chorus). By then, Hilley knew he wanted to turn his love of music into a career. At UGA, he pursued a degree in music education with a double emphasis in piano and voice.
But it wasn’t until a performance of Puccini’s opera La bohème at the Classic Center with the Athena Grand Opera Company and UGA Symphony that Hilley caught the opera bug.
He packed his bag, grabbed every gig, and absorbed every experience he could find. Hilley performed at Opera in the Ozarks in Arkansas, surrounded by fellow young vocalists. Even then, his peers predicted he would step into demanding operatic roles.
Surrounded by cornfields in Indiana, he performed at public schools as Baby Bear in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” set to the music of The Magic Flute.
Hilley focused on academics, too, earning his Master of Music degree in voice performance at Georgia State University. He also studied at both the Manhattan School of Music and the Opera Institute at Boston University, attending programs every summer.
But he eventually moved back home and performed in smaller roles or as an understudy.
Still at 32, he was a young artist in the opera world, and Hilley’s heavy workload eventually paid off.
In 2012, he was noticed by Francesca Zambello, the artistic director of Glimmerglass Festival in New York, who connected him with opera legend Jon Fredric West. West mentored him, and Hilley earned the title of heldentenor, a voice type distinguished by its power, drama, and stamina.
Hilley reached the summit in 2021, debuting at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the legendary title role in Siegfried, a part that requires over five hours of singing.“It was at age 39; 11 years of people telling me weekly, ‘Clay, any minute now, your career is gonna blow up,’” he remembers. “A major theater finally took a chance on me.”
He hasn’t performed in a cornfield since.
Now Hilley is booked through 2028, and he will be taking the stage in some of Europe’s most acclaimed opera houses. In March, he returned to Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy, and an old role, Erik in Der Fligende Holländer. He is up to perform the title role of Tannhäuser during a house debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna, Austria.
In an age of digital distraction, opera is especially relevant today because of its ability to demand your attention. To pull you out of your seat. To not let you go.
“It’s down to the nature of the tissue in your throat,” Hilley says.
Think of the feeling you get before a yawn. Your larynx is in a low position; training this placement is crucial for maintaining vocal power and endurance.
Like a world-class athlete, world-class opera singers know technique. Hilley’s expertise allows him to pursue a passion he was born to do.
“In opera, there’s love, there’s hate, there’s jealousy, there’s birth, there’s death. These moments of life are made bigger.”
