‘‘Thompson delivered all the goods.”
/ SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE /
Kevin Thompson, acclaimed by the New York Times as a “stentorian bass”, “possesses a voice with extraordinary range, depth, color combined with a commanding stage presence…a mountain of a voice, with resonance from the Escorial of Philip II to the throne of Boris Godunov, and the majestic court of Sarastro…” (San Francisco Classical Voice).
The 2023-2024 season will see the acclaimed bass reprise his performance of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni for Opera Colorado, as well as the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette for Dallas Opera, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Opera Grand Rapids, the King/Baobab/Hunter in The Little Prince with Utah Opera, Timur in Turandot with Fargo Moorhead Opera, and featured guest soloist with Mobile Symphony’s annual Christmas Concert. Last season, Thompson made house debuts with Washington National Opera in Elektra, as both Der Pfleger des Orest and Ein Alter Diener, Utah Opera in Rigoletto as Sparafucile, and with Fort Worth Opera in Aida as Il Re. In concert, Mr. Thompson returned to Opera Omaha for an Opera Outdoors Concert with scenes as the title role in Boito’s Mefistofele; he sang with Roanoke Opera for their Opera Gems Gala Concert; he sang Mozart’s Requiem with Eureka Symphony; and with Odyssey Opera, he performed Rachmaninoff’s Troika: The Old Gyspy in Aleko, Ivan in The Miserly Knight, and The Ghost of Virgil in Francesca da Rimini. The summer Thompson returned back to Bard Music Festival for two rarely heard works, singing Thomas Canterbury in Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII and Pistol in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love.
In the previous season, Thompson performed the role of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni with San Antonio Opera; the Old Hebrew in Samson et Daliah with Bob Jones Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera; the First Nazarene in Salome with Tulsa Opera; Oroveso in Norma with Festival Opera; and was seen in the world premiere of Southern Crossings by Zaid Jabri at Barnard College in New York City. Concert engagements included Johnson City Symphony Orchestra for Verdi’s Requiem, with Roanoke Opera, and in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Florida Orchestra.
In the pandemic season of 2020/2021, Mr. Thompson made his debut in Bulgaria with Ruse State Opera singing the role of Polonius in the world premiere of Hamlet by Joseph Summer. In the same season, Thompson was seen in Rigoletto twice: as Sparafucile with Shreveport Opera, and as Monterone with Tulsa Opera. Thompson also joined Tulsa Opera for their Greenwood Overcomes concert, in addition to engagements with Pocono Mountains Music Festival and Opera Omaha.
Mr. Thompson has performed in opera houses and concert venues throughout the world, under the baton of many an esteemed conductor, including Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, South America, Switzerland, and the United States. Thompson has made debuts with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, Bard Opera, National Philharmonic, The Florida Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Odyssey Opera, Hannover Staatsoper, Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre in Ecuador, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Hong Kong Opera, Teatro Regio Parma, Ruse State Opera, Theater Kiel, the Gasteig in Munich, and the Wexford Opera.
Many of Mr. Thompson’s previous roles include: Ramfis and Il Re (Aida); Osmin (Die Entführung as dem Serail); Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte); Mephistophélès (Faust); Oroveso (Norma); Sparafucile and Monterone (Rigoletto); Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos); Banco (Macbeth); Lodovico (Otello); Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni); Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor); Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia); The Old Gypsy (Aleko); Colline (La Boheme); Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd); Ned (Treemonisha); El Captain (Florencia en el Amazonas);Hans Schwartz (Die Meistersinger); and Stefano Colona (Rienzi). As a concert soloist, Thompson’s engagements have included Verdi’sRequiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater; Haydn’s The Creation and the Lord Nelson Mass; and Stravinsky’s Les Noces.
Mr. Thompson was born in Washington, D.C. He is an alumnus of The Juilliard School in New York, San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, and the Santa Fe Opera Program. Recordings include Verdi’s Requiem with Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, Haggadah shel Pesach by Dessau with the American Symphony Orchestra, Thy will be done by Rice with the National Choral Society, Polonius in Joseph Summer’s Hamlet and as King Soliman in Gounod’s La Reine de Saba with Odyssey Opera.