Thomas Hampson
About
Long recognised as one of the most innovative musicians of our time, American baritone Thomas Hampson has received countless international honours for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. His operatic repertoire comprises more than 80 roles, and his discography includes more than 170 albums. He is a multiple Grammy Award- and Edison Award-winner, and the Grand Prix du Disque nominee and winner.
In the 2024-25 season, Hampson both stage directed and took on the role of Don Alfonso in concert performances of Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. This was followed by a residency with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for performances of Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, which Hampson also performed with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Jun Märkl. At the Kennedy Center, he stared in Barber's Vanessa with the National Symphony Orchestra and joined a special concert celebrating American works with Renée Fleming and Denyce Graves.
Hampson's concert schedule has featured collaborations with esteemed orchestras, including the Baden-Baden Philharmonic for their New Year’s concert alongside Daniel Hope, MDR-Sinfonieorchester and Dennis Russell Davies, Turku Philharmonic with John Storgårds, and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi with Emmanuel Tjeknavorian. In recital, Hampson was joined by accordionist Ksenija Sidorova for a tour of Schubert’s Winterreise arranged for baritone and accordion at venues such as Schloss Elmau, Tonhalle Zürich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Beethoven-Haus Bonn. He also appeared in recital at Palais Montcalm in Quebec and with longtime collaborator pianist Wolfram Rieger at Brucknerhaus Linz.
A notable operatic engagement of the season includes a starring role as Bishop Edward Vergerus in a new opera based on Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander at La Monnaie. This new production features music by Mikael Karlsson and a libretto by Royce Vavrek.
In the 2023-24 season, Hampson sang Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms and with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä. Mahler's works featured prominently throughout the season with Hampson performing songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Athens State Orchestra and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. He also joined the New York Philharmonic with Jaap van Zweden for their Asia tour and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi on their European tour, performing Kurt Weill’s Four Walt Whitman Songs.
Hampson is an honorary professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg and an honorary member of London’s Royal Academy of Music. In addition to several honorary doctorates, he is the Kammersänger of the Wiener Staatsoper and Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the Republic of France. In 2017, he received the Hugo Wolf Medal, together with Wolfram Rieger. Hampson is co-founder and artistic director of the Lied Academy Heidelberg. In 2003, he founded the Hampsong Foundation, through which he uses the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. His international masterclass schedule is a continuing online resource of Medici.tv, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Hampsong Foundation livestream channel. Additionally, he serves as an advisor for Opera for Peace.