Vita

On the concert stage as well as in opera Thomas Michael Allen has established a reputation for his exceptional vocalism and his vivid portrayals of wide range of lyric tenor roles. His repertoire includes operas by Monteverdi and haute contre roles of the French baroque, as well as leading roles in the operas of Mozart and recent works of composers such as Hans Werner Henze and Philip Glass.

Thomas Michael Allen was born in Chicago and began his musical studies as a pianist. After earning a degree in English Literature at Davidson College he received a Master’s Degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Since 2017, Thomas Michael Allen has been Professor of Opera and Voice at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

He has worked with such conductors as William Christie, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Simone Young, Julia Jones, Gary Bertini, Helmut Rilling and Kurt Masur, singing with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharamonic, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Academy for Ancient Music, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. He has a wide and varied concert repertoire and is recognized as one of the most sought-after Evangelists in the Passions of Bach.

Thomas Michael Allen has sung at the Théatre des Champs-Élyées in Paris, Zurich Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, La Monnaie in Brussels, Grand Théatre de Genève, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra de Monte Carlo, de Nederlandse Opera and the Stuttgart Opera working with many prominent directors including Robert Carsen, David McVicar, Laurent Pelly, Nigel Lowrey, Dieter Dorn, Pierre Audi, Graham Vick and Barrie Kosky.

Highlights include Calisis in LES BORÉADES (Lyon und Zürich), Athamas in SEMELE (Zürich und Beijing), the Demon in Hans Werner Henzes L’UPUPA (Lyon, Tokio und Dresden), the Painter in Bergs LULU (Athen), Arnalta/Mercurio in Monteverdis L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA (Paris, Berliner Staatsoper, Brüssel), Belmonte in Mozarts DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL (Göttingen), Almaviva in DER BARBIER VON SEVILLA, Flaut in Brittens EIN SOMMERNACHTSTRAUM und Eumaios in Monteverdis ODYSSEUS (Berlin, Komische Oper) Purcells THE FAIRY QUEEN (Rennes) , Oronte in Händels ALCINA (Händel-Festspiele in Halle), Manto in LES PALADINS (Düsseldorf), Mercure/Thespis in PLATÉE (Düsseldorf), Peter Quint in THE TURN OF THE SCREW (Rouen),  le Roi in Monsignys LE ROI ET LE FERMIER (Washington, D.C., New York, and Versailles), Wirt in DER ROSENKAVALIER (Baden-Baden, Osterfestpiele with the Berliner Philharmonikern, conductor Sir Simon Rattle) as well in the title role of Vivaldis CATONE IN UTICA (Glimmerglass Festival).

Thomas Michael Allen appears alongside Cecilia Bartoli on the Decca DVD of Handel’s Semele from the Zurich Opera with William Christie conducting. Grammophone described his performance as Dante on the Chandos DVD of the world premiere of Jacob ter Veldhuis’s Paradiso as ‘stunning’. He can be heard on numerous CD recordings, most recently on Purcell Divine Hymns, again with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants (EMI-Virgin Classics), and his first solo CD Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Songs with and without words. Recent releases include the title roles in both Josef Myslivecek’s Medonte (Harmonia Mundi) and Monsigny’s Le Roi et le Fermier (Naxos) His second solo CD, Far Away (Capriccio), with pianist Charles Spencer will be released in March 2014.

2022-08-30

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