Poul Ruders (b. 1949) is one of the era’s most highly regarded composers for both the opera stage and the symphonic concert hall. His operas have been staged in Copenhagen, New York City, London, Toronto and Munich, and his orchestral music commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Ruders lives a spartan life in the countryside of Denmark. The isolation has afforded him the opportunity to produce a deep and highly varied catalog which includes five operas, 45 symphonic works and concertos, and dozens of chamber and solo pieces. The music of Poul Ruders has been well-documented by the record labels DaCapo (Denmark) and Bridge (USA), and is published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Copenhagen.

In 2019, Poul Ruders will celebrate his 70th birthday with the world premiere of his newest opera, The Thirteenth Child, staged by the Santa Fe Opera. Prior to the premiere, Bridge Records will release a studio recording of the two act ‘fairytale’ opera. Also on tap in 2018/2019 are new productions in the USA and Europe of Ruders’s best known opera, The Handmaid’s Tale after the dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood.