Russell Thomas

American tenor Russell Thomas is fast becoming one of the most sought-after artists of his generation. In recent seasons he has continued to expand his repertoire and made role debuts as Verdi’s Stiffelio at the Frankfurt Opera, as Don Carlos and Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana) at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, as Pollione (Norma) for San Francisco Opera and as Florestan (Fidelio) and Manrico (Il trovatore) for Cincinnati Opera. Notable house debuts have included Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra) under Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann under Johannes Debus for the Canadian Opera Company.

Following his Salzburg Festival debut as Mozart’s Tito, Russell Thomas’s plans for 2017/18 include Tito for his house debut with the Dutch National Opera, his role debut as Henri (Les Vêpres siciliennes) in Frankfurt and Florestan with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under its principal conductor Hannu Linti. In the U.S. he will make his role debut as Verdi’s Otello in concert performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano, before he makes his house debut at the Washington National Opera in the title role in Don Carlos and returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Rodolfo (La bohème).

In addition to his operatic appearances, Russell Thomas is also in demand on the concert platform. Recent appearances have included Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Verdi’s Requiem, in which he will also be appearing with the National Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda in Washington during the 2017/18 season. He performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, most recently in his role debut as Loge (Das Rheingold). Concert appearances in Europe have included Lazarus in John Adams’s The Gospel According to the Other Mary with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic under Markus Stenz, Erik (Der fliegende Holländer) under Andris Nelsons at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Alamiro in Donizetti’s Belisario with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Mark Elder. Following the performance at London’s Barbican Centre, Belisario was recorded for CD.

Current as of June 2017