Burak Bilgili is a Turkish operatic bass-baritone who was born in Akşehir, a town in the Konya Province of Turkey. He has sung in leading opera houses in the United States and Europe. Initially, he studied at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul and later with San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program, and at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia from which he graduated in 2004. He also studied in Italy with Bonaldo Giaotti and Katia Ricciarelli at the Accademia Lirica Internazionale "Katia Ricciarelli" in Parma. In 2003, he became Turkey's first ever representative at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.