Adrian Thompson (tenor)

London-born Adrian Thompson is an artist of extraordinary versatility with a wide-ranging opera, concert and recital repertoire of works from the renaissance to the present day. He trained at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he is now a professor of vocal studies.

His opera appearances have included the title role of Peter Grimes, Skuratov The House Of The Dead and Canio I Pagliacci for Oper Frankfurt; Snout A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Mao Nixon in China in Toronto; Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, 1st Jew in Salome, Arv in Nielsen’s Maskarade and Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Florestan Fidelio and Scribe Khovanshchina for Welsh National Opera, Esslinger Die Meistersinger at Glyndebourne. Prologue The Turn of the Screw, Michael Jarrell’s Galilée and Rev. Adams Peter Grimes (Runnicles) for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Albert Gregor The Makropoulos Case, Erik Der Fliegende Holländer and Laca Jenufa for Opera Zuid; Mime Das Rheingold for Nationale Reisopera; the title role of Janacek’s The Diary of One who Disappeared both in Brussels and the Aix-en-Provence Festival; Vitek The Makropulos Case for Angers/Nantes Opera; Zivny in Janacek’s Osud and Midas in Die Liebe Der Danae for Garsington Opera as well as concert performances as Grigory Boris Godunov at The Brighton Festival and Bacchus Ariadne Auf Naxos at The Barbican. He has also performed with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera du Rhin, Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, Oper der Stadt Köln, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Staatstheater Darmstadt, at the Bregenz Festival, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, New Israeli Opera, and The Netherlands Opera.

Adrian Thompson has performed with all the major British orchestras and ensembles and his overseas engagements have taken him all over the world. During his career he has worked with many distinguished conductors: Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock, Harry Christophers, Sir Andrew Davis, Richard Hickox, Sir Colin Davis and Philippe Herreweghe. In the contemporary field he has performed Lutoslawski’s Paroles Tisées with Oliver Knussen and The London Sinfonietta, recorded Judith Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera and given many first performances of works by British and European composers. Concert highlights include Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass with the Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder, Dream of Gerontius with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Christopher Seaman and at the Royal Festival Hall and War Requiem at the Barbican Centre, London  He is particularly associated with the works of Britten and Elgar and his repertoire also includes Beethoven 9th Symphony, Verdi Requiem and Mahler Das Lied von der Erde as well as the Evangelists of Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions.

A very experienced recitalist, Adrian Thompson has made many appearances at the Wigmore Hall and at festivals in the UK and Europe with pianists Graham Johnson, Iain Burnside and Roger Vignoles and harpist Ossian Ellis, also appearing in recital recently with Roger Braun at the Concertgebouw. He has recorded discs of works by Vaughan Williams and Gurney, a volume in the acclaimed Complete Schubert Edition and Janácek’s The Eternal Gospel with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Hyperion, Warlock’s The Curlew for Collins Classics and Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin for Pickwick.  He appears on Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Virgin Classics, Vaughan Williams’ The Pilgrim’s Progress, Sir John in Love for Chandos and in Handel’s Rodelinda for Virgin Classics. His discography also includes Britten’s Serenade, Les Illuminations and Nocturne and Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang for Naxos.

Engagements in 2011/2012 include Mime Siegfried for the Nationale Reisopera, Triquet in the new production of Eugene Onegin for English National Opera, Glagolitic Mass at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Dream of Gerontius at Worcester Cathedral, Valzacchi for ENO and School Teacher The Cunning Little Vixen for Glyndebourne Festival.