Elin Manahan Thomas (born 1977) is a Welsh soprano. A specialist in Baroque music, she sang at the

wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...

in May 2018.

Biography

Thomas was born in

Gorseinon Gorseinon is a town within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated in the north west of S ...

near Swansea, Wales, the daughter of M. Wynn Thomas OBE, a Professor of Literature at

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

, and Karen Thomas. She was educated at the Welsh-speaking Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr in Gowerton near Swansea, and by the time she was 15 was singing in the Swansea Bach Choir. She won a choral scholarship to Clare College,

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she gained a starred first in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, and completed an MPhil. After auditioning for Sir

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

she joined the

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the '' Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convi ...

, singing in many of the concerts of the Bach Cantata ''Pilgrimage'' which the choir completed in the year 2000. In 2001 she moved to pursue postgraduate vocal studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London. She went on to sing with

The Sixteen The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979. The group performs early Engl ...

, Polyphony, Cambridge Singers and the Gabrieli Consort, as well as pursuing a solo career. She is the first singer to record Bach's '' Alles mit Gott'', a birthday ode written in 1713 and discovered in 2005. She first received great acclaim for her 'Pie Jesu' on Naxos' award-winning recording of Rutter's ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

''. Thomas is a specialist in Baroque music. In 2006 Thomas married baritone opera singer Robert Davies. The couple live in

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...

, Sussex, and have two sons.

Performances

Concert performances include

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Vespers in the Mostly Mozart Festival for

Harry Christophers Richard Henry Tudor "Harry" Christophers CBE FRSCM (born 26 December 1953) is an English conductor. Life and career Richard Henry Tudor Christophers was born in Goudhurst, Kent. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Allan ...

; Britten's ''

Death in Venice ''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Pol ...

'' for Richard Hickox in the QEH; Mozart concert arias with the Gabrieli Consort in the Barbican Hall; Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' with

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducte ...

in St John's, Smith Square; Mozart's ''Mass in C Minor'' in

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bui ...

;

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ga ...

's ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

'' in the Snape Maltings; Haydn's ''Heiligemesse'' and Mozart ''Vespers'' on a tour of the US; the Monteverdi ''Vespers'' in St Mark's, Venice;

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

's ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' in the Palau de la Música, Barcelona; and

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was c ...

'' in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

and

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. She has performed Judith Weir's ''King Harald's Saga'' in collaboration with the composer, and premièred Sir

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Son ...

's latest work ''Shunya'' at his 60th birthday concert. She visited

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...

for a Classic FM Concert at Christmas 2008. She performed

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his train ...

's '' Eternal source of light divine'' during the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in London. In July 2013, Elin performed at two special Doctor Who Proms, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the show. In 2016, Manahan Thomas was the soprano soloist in the première of Karl Jenkins' choral work, ''Cantata Memoria: For the children'', at the Wales Millennium Centre. She also features on the première recording of the work. On 19 May 2018 she sang ''Eternal source of light divine'' at the

, accompanied by the event's orchestra and with David Blackadder playing the trumpet obbligato. On the operatic stage, Thomas has played: *Pamina (Mozart ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inc ...

'') *The Governess (Britten '' Turn of the Screw'') *Micaela (Bizet ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'') *Ninetta (Mozart '' La finta semplice'') *Arminda (Mozart '' La finta giardiniera'') *Despina (Mozart ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte ...

'') *Mermaid (

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

'') *Coryphée ( Berlioz ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les T ...

'') at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a sm ...

*Angelica (

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

'') *Constance (

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kn ...

'' Dialogue des Carmelites'') *Lucy (

Menotti Menotti may refer to the following people: ;Given name *Menotti Aristone (c.1942–2013), American jockey *Menotti de Tomazzo Sobrinho (born 1943), Brazilian football player *Menotti Del Picchia (1892–1988), Brazilian poet, journalist and painte ...

The Telephone ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'') *Night/Nymph (Purcell ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a " Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...

'').

Recordings

* Her first solo album, ''Eternal Light'', recorded with the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...

conducted by Harry Christophers, was released in June 2007. * ''A Christmas Festival'' (2008), recorded with the Cambridge Singers, Farnham Youth Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Rutter * ''Song of Songs'' (2009), composed by Patrick Hawes, featuring Hawes's choir Conventus and the English Chamber Orchestra. *''Fair Albion'' (2009), new works by Patrick Hawes. *''This is the Day'' (2012) with the Cambridge Singers and

Aurora Orchestra Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra , co-founded in 2004 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati. The orchestra is based in London, where it is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place. The ...

, conducted by John Rutter and produced by Thomas Hewitt Jones * In 2015 she appeared as the featured vocalist on Jessica Curry's game soundtrack of '' Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.'' * In 2016 Ty Cerdd released her recordings of ''

Morfydd Owen Morfydd Llwyn Owen (1 October 1891 – 7 September 1918) was a Welsh composer, pianist and mezzo-soprano. A prolific composer, as well as a member of influential intellectual circles, she died shortly before her 27th birthday. Early life a ...

: Portrait of a Lost Icon'' with Brian Ellsbury the piano accompanist. * Her performance of '' Eternal Source of Light Divine'', recorded at

St George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the G ...

on 19 May 2018, appears on the 2018 album ''The Royal Wedding - The Official Album''.

Notes and references

Sources

* BBC Wales
Elin Manahan Thomas biography
2016 *Price, Karen
"Elin Manahan Thomas starts the year on a high"
'' Western Mail'', 24 January 2009 *

Kent on Line Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

"Elin Manahan Thomas performs Handel’s Eternal Source of Light Divine at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics"
2012

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Elin Manahan 1977 births 21st-century Welsh women opera singers Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal College of Music British performers of early music Musicians from Swansea Living people People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr Welsh operatic sopranos Welsh-language singers Women performers of early music