His stage debut came in 1998 when he sang Don Geronio in Rossini's
Il turco in Italia with the
Turkish State Opera in
Istanbul. He also sang with the company the following year as Abimelech in
Camille Saint-Saëns Samson and Delilah. In 2002 while still a student at the Academy of Vocal Arts, he made his international debut as Duke Alfonso in Donizetti's
Lucrezia Borgia at
La Scala, followed by a series of other house debuts before he graduated. These included his US debut at the
Baltimore Opera as Sparafucile in Verdi's
Rigoletto in 2002; appearances at both the
Vancouver Opera and
Pittsburgh Opera as Don Basilio in Rossini's
The Barber of Seville in 2003; and performances as Raimondo in Donizetti's
Lucia di Lammermoor both at the
Palm Beach Opera and at the
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in 2003. Bilgili made his
Metropolitan Opera debut on 7 May 2004, when he sang Leporello without either a "full-stage or orchestra rehearsal" in the final performance of
Don Giovanni that season. When he took his solo bow at the end of the performance, the audience roared in appreciation. He returned to the company in 2009 as Ferrando in
Il trovatore. Between 2005 and 2006 he added several new roles to his repertoire including Timur in
Turandot at the
Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and
New York City Opera, both in 2005; Mefistopheles in
Faust for
Virginia Opera in 2005; Banquo in
Macbeth, first sung with the
Canadian Opera Company in 2005, followed by performances of the role at Vancouver Opera and
Seattle Opera in 2006; and Escamillo in
Carmen at
Den Norske Opera in Oslo and the
Savonlinna Opera Festival, both in 2006. More role debuts followed in 2007 - 2008, including several house debuts. These included Padre Guardiano in
La forza del destino at the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2007; Ramfis in
Aida with
Cincinnati Opera in 2007; Nourabad in
The Pearl Fishers for
Florida Grand Opera in 2008; and Giorgio in
I puritani at the
Teatro Massimo di Palermo in 2008. ==Prizes==