Singing

Known for his “virile sound” and “reliable technique,” Opera News exclaims Reuben L. Lillie “graces his music with an intrinsically attractive timbre.” The Pennsylvania-born, Chicago-based tenor produces a sound that is both “vibrant and penetrating,” according to Chicago Classical Review (CCR), “a solid vocal technique and ringing tenor voice.”

Reuben’s recent appearances include Opera Festival of Chicago’s production of Puccini’s Manon (Edmondo), which CCR praised for his “sweet lyric tenor” as well as for the Chicago premiere of Dallapicolla’s Il prigioniero (Premiere sacerdote). Reuben also presented the tenor solos in Olivet Nazarene University’s Messiah: The Reunion concert alongside fellow alumni soloists Bradley Garvin, Cassandra Petrie, Jenna Fawcett, and Ashlie McIntire.

Reuben also debuted the role of the notorious Nathan Leopold in the world premiere of Felix Jarrar’s HindSight, coproduced by Chicago Fringe Opera and /kor/ productions, which was nominated for Chicago Reader’s Best New Local Opera Production of 2024. CCR called Reuben “a powerful vocal force and dramatic presence” and said that he was “particularly stirring in his final anguished cries of guilt.”

Other appearances include a concert performance of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu) with West Suburban Symphony as well as Opera Festival of Chicago’s productions of Verdi’s Attila (Uldino, covering Foresto), the Midwest premiere of Verdi’s Il corsaro (Schiavo, covering Corrado), and the Chicago premiere of Pizzetti’s Assassinio nella cattedrale (First Knight/Tempter) which the Hyde Park Herald called his tenor “both ingratiating and menacing.”