Russell Thomas (born ) is an American operatic tenor. He has performed leading roles at some of the world's leading opera houses, including the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...

, the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

, and the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, among others.

Early life

Born in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Thomas did not discover his voice until the age of 18, when a voice teacher suggested he could make a career out of singing. 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 Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...

Young Artist Program, the

Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...

, the

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the ...

, and

Sarasota Opera Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company in Sarasota, Florida, USA, which was founded as the Asolo Opera Guild and, until 1974, presented a visiting company's productions. Between 1974 and 1979, it set about mounting its own productions in t ...

Career

He has sung the role of Tito in Mozart's ''

La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

'' and Rodolfo in Puccini's ''

La Boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' at the Metropolitan Opera, and at the

he appeared as Gabriele Adorno in Verdi's ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had bee ...

''. He performed the role of Canio in a 2021 online video of Ruggero Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', produced by

. He is the Artist in Residence for the

until 2024.

Personal life

Thomas is an openly gay man who became a father through adoption.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Russell 1970s births 20th-century American male opera singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American male opera singers American operatic tenors Living people Singers from Miami African-American LGBTQ people American gay musicians Year of birth missing (living people)