Belisario — Opera Rara/BBC Symphony Orchestra
Here is a singer with a great sense of character, good stage presence and a fine, ringing tenor voice.
— Colin Clarke, Seen and Heard International
American Operatic Tenor
Russell Thomas
A native of Miami, Russell Thomas has established himself as one of the most exciting vocal and dramatic talents on the international opera and concert scene — with principal-tenor roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the English National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Russell Thomas is the First-Prize winner of the prestigious Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona (First Prize, Audience Favorite and Best Tenor) and of the Competizione dell’Opera in Dresden, and a recipient of the Richard Tucker Career Grant. His repertoire centres on Verdi and Donizetti, with roles including Don Carlo, Manrico, the Duke of Mantua, Cavaradossi, Foresto, Cassio, Tamino, Hoffmann, Faust, Pollione, and Turiddu — among many others documented on the resume.
Recent and upcoming engagements span the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Opera Rara, the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. A complete chronological listing is on the schedule page.
Alongside the operatic and concert career, Russell has in recent years contributed score and arrangement work for the digital entertainment industry — including original orchestral cues for slot-game studios and incidental music for several live casino game-show productions. The crossover is documented on the composer page.
An alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Russell was also a member of the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, a Roger R. Hinkley Artist at the Florida Grand Opera, a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, an Apprentice at the Sarasota Opera, and took part in the 2005 and 2006 Marlboro Music Festivals. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the New World School of the Arts.
What the critics have said
A selection from the broader reviews archive — covering performances at Opera Rara/BBC Symphony Orchestra, the LA Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company, the New York Premiere of A Flowering Tree, and others.
Belisario — Opera Rara/BBC Symphony Orchestra
Capping this impressive quartet was Russell Thomas as Almiro. His singing was consistently fine, at times sensationally so, with abundant heroic tone, an incisive technique and a compelling engagement with the music. At the top of his range, his tenor kept its tone without a hint of bleat, and in the gentler music, his voice was notably sweet and seductive.
— Peter Reed, ClassicalSource.com
Belisario — Opera Rara/BBC Symphony Orchestra
The fluently musical young American tenor Russell Thomas was nothing short of sensational as Belisario’s lost son…
— Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
The Gospel According to the Other Mary — LA Philharmonic
The first act closes with a tenor aria set to Primo Levi’s poem ‘Passover’. The serene melody of its opening line — ‘Tell me: How is this night different from all other nights?’ — gradually becomes heated before easing back into tranquility. Mr. Thomas sang the closing couplet — ‘This year in fear and shame,/Next year in virtue and in justice’ — with ringing power. As he finished at the final rehearsal earlier on Thursday, my eyes filled with tears.
— Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times
Oedipus Rex — Boston Symphony Orchestra
Russell Thomas was an appealing Oedipus, his tenor a mix of ardency and sweetness.
— Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe
Tales of Hoffmann — Canadian Opera Company Debut
Another impressive debutant was Russell Thomas as the drunken protagonist of the title. This American’s pure, ringing tone and crystalline diction were a joy to hear. And they remained so to the bitter end, a point worth making, this being one of the longer hauls in the tenor repertoire.
— Arthur Kaptainis, National Post
As seen on
Selected national press coverage and editorial features.
Press & magazine features
Selected magazine features from the 2024–2026 seasons. Click for higher-resolution previews.
Upcoming and recent
For the current season’s engagements, the historical schedule, and concert appearances with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Concertgebouw, the LA Philharmonic, and others, see the full schedule.