Ben Bliss: Making it Work
From Dr. Phil to the World’s Great Opera Stages: Building a Career on Your Own Terms with Ben Bliss What happens when the career you thought you wanted turns out not to be the one you’re meant to have? For tenor Ben Bliss, the road to an international opera career took an unexpected detour through film school and three years working in production on The Dr. Phil Show. Eventually, he returned to what had once been his college “hobby”—and built a career singing on some of the most prestigious opera stages in the world. Today, Ben has performed leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, and many more. But his story isn’t just about landing big roles or making it onto the world’s most celebrated stages. It’s also about navigating the realities of life as a freelance performing artist. Ben is the author of Making It Work, a practical guide to financial and entrepreneurial literacy for freelancers in the performing arts. Because talent matters—but so do the skills that help you build a sustainable career around it. In this episode of Crushing Classical, Jennet Ingle talks with Ben about his unconventional path into opera, the realities of building a freelance career, and what it takes to make a life in the performing arts work. In this episode, we explore: * How Ben went from film school and television production to an international opera career * What it takes to build a freelance career in the performing arts * Why entrepreneurial and financial skills matter for musicians * How a career can take an unexpected turn—and still lead somewhere extraordinary You don't have to follow a straight line to build a meaningful musical life. And you don't have to figure out every part of your career by yourself. 🎧 Listen to the episode and get inspired to think differently about what’s possible in your own career. About Ben Bliss: Ben Bliss is an internationally acclaimed tenor who has performed leading roles at major opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Bayerische Staatsoper. He is also the author of Making It Work, a practical guide to financial and entrepreneurial literacy for freelancers in the performing arts. https://makingitworkbook.com/ instagram.com/makingitworkbook https://a.co/d/022Kp69O instagram.com/mrbenbliss Subscribe to Crushing Classical for more conversations about building a creative career that works for YOU. Book a free discovery call with me! We can spend an hour looking at your creative career. You deserve to thrive, and your artistry matters. https://calendly.com/jennet/thm Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review! Thanks for joining me on Crushing Classical! Theme music by DreamVance. I help people to lean into their creative careers and start or grow their income streams. You can read more or hop onto a discovery call from my website. https://jennetingle.com/work-with-me I'm your host, Jennet Ingle. I love you all. Stay safe out there!