Described by The Times Herald-Record (New York) as “a firm bass-baritone,” by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as “dramatically and musically outstanding,” and by Appcompanist as “an incredible singer and teacher,” Bülent Güneralp is an award-winning artist, trailblazing vocal training expert, creator of The Vocathletic System™ for Voice, Singing & Speech, former drummer of the Istanbul State Theaters Orchestra, and pianist. He has been officially recognized by the Massachusetts State Senate and by Thomas Menino, former Mayor of Boston, and has been featured on KLCC’s Inspiring Minds, National Public Radio’s member station in Oregon.
Equally at home across genres from opera to the American Songbook, Mr. Güneralp possesses the extremely rare distinction of having sung, on the operatic stage, all the principal male voice categories: tenor, baritone and bass.
As a dedicated pedagogue and member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, he specializes in guiding students of all ages and backgrounds to discover and express their natural voice with maximum efficiency—skills they can then apply to any genre or vocal discipline. His students, who consistently achieve concrete results in their very first lessons that had eluded them through years of previous training, perform successfully in styles as diverse as rock, heavy metal, jazz, American Songbook, opera, oratorio, art song, musical theater, a cappella, pop, R&B, gospel, country, public speaking. A wealth of enthusiastic testimonials underscores his reputation as a transformative teacher.
Performance highlights include: the Turkish-language premiere of the role of the Sultan in the Ukrainian opera Cossack Beyond The Danube with the Commonwealth Lyric Theater (for which Mr. Güneralp and his mother created the Turkish libretto); the roles of the Master and Yefim in the U.S. premiere of Desire To Sleep by Moshe Shulman with Juventas New Music Ensemble; narrator in the world English-language premiere of Expérience by Phivos-Angelos Kollias with Juventas; world premiere of Missa Patri Pio by Leonardo Ciampa; the role of the Jewish Man in the world premiere of The Prioress’s Tale by Delvyn Case; and the Omaggio al Bel Canto Best Interpretation Award at the Stelle dell’Anno Nuovo Festival in Boston, organized by the Dante Alighieri Society Italian Cultural Center of Massachusetts and the Consulate General of Italy. Additional engagements include a feature program on CCTV and a performance at the historic USS Salem during the inaugural maritime festival of Quincy, Massachusetts, where he performed the solos of Emile de Becque from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific.
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"When you think of opera, the word modern doesn't usually follow. Bulent Guneralp... is changing the way we think about this centuries-old art form. Guneralp is anything but a stereotypical opera singer... He isn't merely an opera singer, but a well-rounded musician . He has performed Broadway pieces, jazz solos, spirituals, and even contemporary pop songs, which he says inform his interpretation of even the most classical roles in opera. This approach to opera may be what draws crowds who aren't as familiar with the genre... This opera singer, who says his favorite music ranges from that of the heavy metal 80s band Cacophony to jazz pianist Chick Corea, shows that opera singers may not be what you think, and his audiences are surprisingly diverse as well... "
- Chelsea Whyte, The Somerville News