William Thomas

A recent graduate of the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, British bass William Thomas is fast making a name for himself as one of today’s most promising young singers. He was a member of the Harewood Artists programme at English National Opera 2021-2022 and is a BBC New Generation Artist 2021-2023.

The 2022/23 season sees William sing Colline La bohème for Glyndebourne on Tour and the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and Snug A Midsummer Night’s Dream in his debut for Opéra de Rouen Normandie. On the concert platform, he sings Handel’s Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music/Laurence Cummings, Mozart’s Requiem with Glyndebourne on Tour, Handel’s St John Passion with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra/von Steinacker and Narbal Les Troyens with the Monteverdi Orchestra/Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

In future seasons William debuts at the Royal Opera House and Teatro alla Scala. He also returns to the Opéra national de Paris.

Recent engagements include Colline La bohème for the English National Opera, Gralsritter Parsifal with Opéra national de Paris, Nicholas in the British premiere of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa at the Glyndebourne Festival, Shepherd Pelléas et Mélisande for Garsington Opera, Snug A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Vienna State Opera, Zweiter Priester/Zweiter Geharnischter Die Zauberflöte for Glyndebourne and Parsi Rustomji Satyagraha for the English National Opera.

Concert engagements have included Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the BBC Proms with the Monteverdi Orchestra/Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Mozart’s Requiem at the BBC Proms with the Britten Sinfonia/David Bates; Bach’s Johannes-Passion with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Priest/Badger/Harašta in concert performances of The Cunning Little Vixen with the CBSO/Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestra of the English National Opera/Laurence Cummings; Bartok’s Cantata Profana with the London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orchestre national de Lyon/Alan Gilbert.

He is winner of a number of major prizes, which include the Kathleen Ferrier Award and John Christie Award in 2018, the Critics Circle Young Talent (voice) award 2021 and the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in 2019.