Artist Spotlight: Kevin Thompson

Kevin Thompson, bass

Kevin Thompson, acclaimed by the New York Times as a “stentorian bass,” “possesses a voice with extraordinary range, depth, color combined with a commanding stage presence … a mountain of a voice, with resonance from the Escorial of Philip II to the throne of Boris Godunov, and the majestic court of Sarastro.” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

Last season, Thompson had house debuts with Washington National Opera in Elektra, as both Der Pfleger des Orest and Ein Alter Diener, Utah Opera in Rigoletto as Sparafucile, and with Fort Worth Opera in Aida as Il Re. He also returned to Bard Summerscape to perform the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Saint-Saëns’Henry VIII; Opera Omaha for an Opera Outdoors Concert where he will perform scenes from Boito’s Mefistofele as Mefistofele; with Roanoke Opera for their Opera Gems Gala Concert; and with Odyssey Opera for Rachmaninoff’s Troika; as The Old Gyspy in Aleko; Ivan in The Miserly Knight, and The Ghost of Virgil in Francesca di Rimini. Future engagements include house debuts with Opera Colorado and The Dallas Opera.

In the previous season, Thompson performed the role of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni with San Antonio Opera; the Old Hebrew in Samson et Daliah with Bob Jones Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera; the First Nazarene in Salome with Tulsa Opera; Oroveso in Norma with Festival Opera; and was seen in the world premiere of Southern Crossings by Zaid Jabri at Barnard College in New York City. Concert engagements included Johnson City Symphony Orchestra for Verdi’s Requiem, with Roanoke Opera, and in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Florida Orchestra.

Thompson has performed in opera houses and concert venues throughout the world, under the baton of many an esteemed conductor, including Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, South America, Switzerland and the United States. Thompson has made debuts with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, Bard Opera, National Philharmonic, The Florida Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Odyssey Opera, Hannover Staatsoper, Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre in Ecuador, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Hong Kong Opera, Teatro Regio Parma, Ruse State Opera, Theater Kiel, the Gasteig in Munich and the Wexford Opera.

Thompson was born in Washington, D.C. He is an alumnus of The Juilliard School in New York, San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, and the Santa Fe Opera Program.

Learn more about Kevin by visiting him at his website, kevinthompsonbass.com or on Instagram @basso_thompson