Bruce Ford is known as one of the finest bel canto tenors of his generation and is a luminary in the Rossini and Donizetti revival of the '90s onward, as well as in Mozart. He first studied voice at West State University in Canyon, TX, and later at Texas Tech University. He was admitted to the Houston Opera Studio (the training company of the Houston Grand Opera), where he studied under Elena Nikolaidi and John Gillas. He made his stage debut at the HGO as the abbot in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur (a comprimario role), as well as singing in the American premiere of Philip Glass' The Madrigal Opera in 1981 and the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Willie Stark. He appeared in various small and medium-sized theaters in Europe and the United States during the early '80s, including the Minnesota Opera where he sang Peccadillo in the world premiere of P.D.Q. Bach's (Peter Schickele) The Abduction of Figaro. He made his Wexford debut in 1986 as Argirio in Rossini's Tancredi, which brought him to wider attention in the bel canto field. He began his long association with the Pesaro Festival in 1990 and in 1991, he made his Covent Garden debut as Count Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. He sang Ernesto for his Chicago Lyric Opera debut in 1995. His Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1997 as Almaviva. He has recorded widely, often in world-premiere recordings of forgotten bel canto operas.