Selected critical notices

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

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

Venetian Nights Concert with Nicole Cabell — My Chicago Debut

If Cabell returned as a welcome friend on Saturday, Thomas provided the thrill of discovery. A native of Miami with a resume that ranges from Tamino in ‘The Magic Flute’ at the Metropolitan Opera to the Prince in John Adams’ ‘The Flowering Tree’ in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo, Thomas has a big, ardent tenor that was a fine match for Cabell’s strong soprano. He has ringing top notes and sang with an emotional urgency that turned these stand-alone concert arias and duets into vivid dramas.

— Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun Times

A Flowering Tree — New York Premiere

There are only three solo characters, each performed here by a superb singer in a deeply expressive performance. … And the strong, clarion-voiced tenor Russell Thomas is the impulsive, awe-struck Prince.

— Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

A Flowering Tree — San Francisco Symphony, 2007 (US Premiere)

Tenor Russell Thomas sang handsomely as the Prince, conveying the pain and bewilderment of love and loss.

— Georgia Rowe, Opera News

Zaide — Vienna, 2006

… most notably, Russell Thomas (Sultan Soliman), whose huge, supple, beautifully-produced tenor sounded ready to conquer Florestan.

— Larry L. Lash, Opera News

Macbeth — The Met

Russell Thomas sounded first-rate in Malcolm’s limited duties.

— David Shengold, Opera News

Morgan Library Recital — 2007

Thomas’s enormous, fresh, exuberant tenor was ideally suited to Idomeneo’s ‘Eccoci salvi alfin… Vedrommi intorno,’ which opened the program. His sound was heroic but still lyrical, with some nice technical touches. His messa di voce at ‘Sono innocente’ was stunning, and he slightly covered the voice to express his sorrow. … In the Beethoven cycle that immediately followed, Thomas proved that ardor need not be reckless. He was clear and assured, even as he surmounted technical hurdles such as the high-lying entrances in ‘Es kehret der Maien.’ The compelling character that emerged was both innocent and strong — a youth as strapping as he is inexperienced, rushing toward heartbreak with fleet-footed joy.

— Oussama Zahr, Opera News

Soliman — Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart

Russell Thomas was a menacing and vocally solid Soliman.

— Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

Chamber Music Society — Lincoln Center

The program also included two song cycles based on the poetry of A. E. Housman. Russell Thomas, a tenor with a rich deep sound, sang them. … Mr. Thomas and the company drew on its currents of introspection and intensity in an eloquent account.

— Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

Rodolfo, La Bohème — Seattle

This ‘Bohème’ was particularly rich in male talent… Thomas’s easy high notes and his ardent vocal production made him an eminently believable young bohemian.

— Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times

Herald, Don Carlo — The Met

The other new singer was Russell Thomas, who brought a strong, attractive tenor to the brief phrases of the Herald in the auto-da-fé scene.

— David Shengold, Gay City News

Cavaradossi, Tosca — St. Louis

Russell Lamar Thomas showed a most appealing tenor as Cavaradossi, Tosca’s true love.

— Joe Pollack, KWMJ St. Louis

Cavaradossi, Tosca — St. Louis

Russell Lamar Thomas is a physical and equally energetic Cavaradossi, with a room-filling tenor that is never harsh or strained.

— Robert Boyd, KDHX St. Louis

Cavaradossi, Tosca — St. Louis

… tenor Russell Lamar Thomas gave great promise as Cavaradossi. The voice is big and has a lovely timbre.

— Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ernesto, Don Pasquale — Spokane

… the brilliant tenor Russell Thomas on loan from the Metropolitan Opera’s Young Artists program. From his first note, it was clear he had a voice of exceptional quality and distinction. Later, we heard that voice in full display in the aria ‘Com’ è gentil’.

— Jim Kershner, The Spokesman-Review