Praised by The New York Times as a “stentorian bass,” Kevin Thompson “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, Mr. Thompson joined Florentine Opera as the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Washington Opera Society as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Opera Southwest for Verdi’s Requiem, Eureka Symphony for Messiah, and Bard Music Festival for Martinů’s Julietta. This season, he returns to Washington National Opera as Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, he joins Tulsa Opera as the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance, and he brings his signature Bonze to Fort Worth Opera for their Madama Butterfly.
In recent seasons, the acclaimed bass performed as Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni for Opera Colorado, the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette for Dallas Opera, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Opera Grand Rapids, the King/Baobab/Hunter in The Little Prince with Utah Opera, Timur in Turandot with Fargo Moorhead Opera, and on the Mobile Symphony’s annual Christmas concert. He also joined The Atlanta Opera to sing Church Jenkins in a workshop of Forsyth County is Flooding as part of their new works festival, and he sang Father Truelove in The Rake’s Progress with Lakes Area Music Festival. Mr. Thompson made house débuts with Washington National Opera as both Der Pfleger des Orest and Ein alter Diener in Elektra, with Fort Worth Opera as Il Re in Aida, and with Utah Opera as Sparafucile in Rigoletto. In concert, Mr. Thompson returned to Opera Omaha for an Opera Outdoors Concert with scenes as the title role in Boito’s Mefistofele; he sang with Roanoke Opera for their Opera Gems Gala Concert; he sang Verdi’s Requiem with Eureka Symphony; and with Odyssey Opera, he performed Rachmaninoff’s Troika: The Old Gyspy in Aleko, Ivan in The Miserly Knight, and The Ghost of Virgil in Francesca da Rimini. Thompson also joined Bard Music Festival for two rarely heard works, singing Canterbury in Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII and Pistol in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love. He performed Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni with San Antonio Opera; the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila 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 he was seen in the world premiere of Southern Crossings by Zaid Jabri at Barnard College in New York City. Concert engagements included Verdi’s Requiem with Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Florida Orchestra, and performances with Roanoke Opera.
In the pandemic season of 2020/21, Mr. Thompson made his début in Bulgaria with State Opera Ruse singing the role of Polonius in the world premiere of Hamlet by Joseph Summer. In the same season, Thompson was seen in Rigoletto twice: as Sparafucile with Shreveport Opera and as Monterone with Tulsa Opera. Thompson also joined Tulsa Opera for their Greenwood Overcomes concert, in addition to engagements with Pocono Mountains Music Festival and Opera Omaha.
Mr. Thompson has performed under the baton of many an esteemed conductor in opera houses and concert venues throughout the world, including Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, South America, Switzerland, and the United States. Thompson has made débuts with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, Bard Opera, National Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, Opera Santa Barbara, Odyssey Opera, Hannover Staatsoper, Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre in Ecuador, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Hong Kong Opera, Teatro Regio di Parma, State Opera Ruse, Theater Kiel, the Gasteig in Munich, and the Wexford Opera.
Mr. Thompson’s previous roles include: Ramfis and Il Re (Aida); Osmin (Die Entführung aus dem Serail); Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte); Mephistophélès (Faust); Oroveso (Norma); Sparafucile and Monterone (Rigoletto); Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos); Banco (Macbeth); Lodovico (Otello); Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni); Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor); Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia); The Old Gypsy (Aleko); Colline (La bohème); Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd); Ned (Treemonisha); El Capitán (Florencia en el Amazonas); Hans Schwartz (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg); and Stefano Colonna (Rienzi). On the concert stage, Thompson’s engagements have included Verdi’s Requiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater; Haydn’s The Creation and Lord Nelson Mass; and Stravinsky’s Les Noces.
Mr. 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. Recordings include Verdi’s Requiem with Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, Dessau’s Haggadah shel Pesach with the American Symphony Orchestra, Rice’s Thy will be done with the National Choral Society, Polonius in Joseph Summer’s Hamlet with Navona Records, and King Soliman in Gounod’s La reine de Saba with Odyssey Opera.