Russell Thomas
Russell Thomas (born 1976/1977)[1] is an American operatic tenor. He has performed leading roles at some of the world's leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the English National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, among others.
Early life
[edit]Born in Miami, Florida, Thomas did not discover his voice until the age of 18, when a voice teacher suggested he could make a career out of singing.[2] He went on to study music at conservatory, and sang in the chorus of Miami Opera as an undergraduate. Thomas went on to be a young artist with Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, the Florida Grand Opera, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Sarasota Opera.[3]
Career
[edit]In 2008 Thomas moved to Atlanta, Georgia. In 2014 he was made Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's first Artist-In-Residence.[4]
He has sung the role of Tito in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito and Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden he appeared as Gabriele Adorno in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.[5] He performed the role of Canio in a 2021 online video of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, produced by Lyric Opera of Chicago (LOC).[6] He later performed the role live with the LOC in 2025.[7] At the same opera house he performed as Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio in 2024.[8]
He was the Artist in Residence for the Los Angeles Opera until 2024.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Thomas is an openly gay man who became a father through adoption.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ Looseleaf, Victoria (June 1, 2021). "Russell Thomas Plays It Forward". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Interview with tenor Russell Thomas | jacklivigni.com". Retrieved Aug 7, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy - Festival Artists - Russell Thomas". Archived from the original on 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
- ↑ Paulk, James L. (March 14, 2024). "Atlanta Resident Is One of the Most In-Demand Tenors In World". The Atlanta Constitution. p. C1.
- ↑ "Get info about artists - Operabase". www.operabase.com. Retrieved Mar 28, 2019.
- ↑ Pagliacci video, 2021, Lyric Opera of Chicago.
- ↑ Jones, Chris. "Lyric Opera of Chicago Performs an Old School Double Bill". Chicago Tribune. pp. 5–6, section Arts & Living.
- ↑ Lyric Opera of Chicago: Fidelio, September 26, 2024
- ↑ "Russell Thomas". Los Angeles. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ↑ "Superstar Tenor Russell Thomas on Being a Black Queer Man in Opera". www.advocate.com. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1970s births
- 21st-century African-American male singers
- 21st-century American male opera singers
- African-American male opera singers
- American operatic tenors
- Living people
- Singers from Miami
- African-American LGBTQ people
- Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation competition winners
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- LGBTQ classical musicians
- Classical musicians from Florida
- American gay singers