© Grzegorz Monkiewicz
Adrian Thompson
Tenor
Adrian is one of Britain’s leading operatic character tenors, long established on the stages of Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Garsington Festival. Internationally, his guest appearances have included Snout A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Teatro alla Scala, Albert Gregor The Makropoulos Case for Opera Zuid and Cologne Opera, title role Peter Grimes, Skuratov From The House Of The Dead and Canio Il Pagliacci for Oper Frankfurt and The Diary of one who Disappeared for La Monnaie and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Emperor Turandot for Canadian Opera Company. Adrian received extraordinary critical acclaim for his February 2020 performance as Mime Siegfried in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ring Cycle conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Highlights of the 2023-24 season include returns to Grange Park Opera as Tichon Katja Kabanova and Trinculo in the world premiere of Antony Bolton’s Island of Dreams directed by David Pountney. Future plans include a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
News
Double bill for Adrian Thompson at Grange Park Opera
Posted 11/06/2024.
We are delighted to announce that Adrian Thompson will appear in two productions at this year's Grange Park Opera.
He first takes the role of Tichon in David Alden's production of Janacek's Katya Kabanova, singing alongside Natalya Romaniw in the title role and Susan Bullock as Kabanicha. Performances run between 16 June and 12 July.
Adrian then takes the role of Trinculo the jester in the world premiere of Island of Dreams, a reinvention of Shakespeare's The Tempest, composed by Anthony Bolton and directed by Sir David Pountney with Brett Polegato in the role of Prospero. Performances take place on 11 and 13 July.
Next season sees Adrian make a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Don Basilio in David McVicar's production of Le Nozze di Figaro.
For further details of Adrian's appearances at Grange Park Opera, please see the website here.
Repertoire Includes
Concert
BACH
St John Passion
St Matthew Passion
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 9
BERLIOZ
Te Deum
BRITTEN
Serenade
Nocturne
Winter Words
Spring Symphony
War Requiem
ELGAR
Dream Of Gerontius
The Apostles
The Kingdom
JANACEK
Glagolitic Mass
The Eternal Gospel
LUTOSLAWSKI
Paroles Tiseés
MAHLER
Das Lied Von Der Erde
MENDELSSOHN
Lobgesang
SCHUBERT
Die Schöne Müllerin
WARLOCK
The Curlew
Opera
BRITTEN
Albert Herring (Mr Upfold)
Billy Budd (Red Whiskers)
Peter Grimes (Rev. Adams)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Snout)
Owen Wingrave (Sir Phillip Wingrave)
Death in Venice (Aschenbach)
HARTMANN
Simplicius Simplicissimus (Hermit)
HUMPERDINCK
Hänsel und Gretel (Witch)
JANACEK
From the House of the Dead (Shapkin / Old Prisoner)
Macropoulos Case (Vitek / Hauk)
MONTEVERDI
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Iro / Eumete)
MOZART
Le nozze di Figaro (Basilio / Don Curzio)
Die Zauberflöte (Monostatos)
MUSSORGSKY
Khovanshchina (Scribe)
PUCCINI
Turandot (Emperor Altoum)
Madama Butterfly (Goro)
Gianni Schicchi (Gherado)
SHOSTAKOVICH
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Drunk Peasant)
STRAVINSKY
The Rake’s Progress (Sellem, auctioneer)
STROMAN
The Weekend (Stephen)
STRAUSS, R.
Salome (Herod / 1st Jew)
Die Fledermaus (Blind, a lawyer)
RIMSKY KORSAKOV
Maid of Pskov (Boyar Nikita Matuta)
TCHAIKOVSKY
Eugene Onegin (Triquet)
WAGNER
Das Rheingold (Mime)
Siegfried (Mime)
Selected Discography
Press
Janacek KATYA KABANOVA / GRANGE PARK OPERA
"Tichon is wonderfully depicted by Adrian Thompson, who sings with his customary crisp diction and musicality"
Melanie Eskenazi, Music OMH (June 2024)
troman THE WEEKEND / BLOOMSBURY THEATRE
"Adrian Thompson is cast perfectly as Stephen (well, he should be - the part was written for him) all pent-up rage, long-festered guilt and male petulance. You really do fear that he might burst a blood vessel!"
Gary Naylor, Broadway World (September 2021)
Rimsky-Korsakov IVAN THE TERRIBLE / GRANGE PARK OPERA
"Adrian Thompson as Matuta managed to bring a wonderful level of malevolent nastiness into each of his short scenes."
Robert Hugill, Opera Today (June 2021)
"Adrian Thompson makes a vivid cameo, as the “evil” boyar, Matuta, who seeks Olga’s hand in marriage"
Hugh Canning, The Times (June 2021)
Wagner SIEGFRIED / London Philharmonic (Cond. Jurowski)
"Adrian Thompson's engagingly characterful Mime dominated the first half"
Financial Times, Richard Fairman (February 2020)
"Adrian Thompson's funny yet dangerous Mime was all obsessive hatred, self-loathing and manipulative malice"
The Guardian, Tim Ashley (February 2020)
"...literally dwarfed by the Mime of Adrian Thompson, who projected his part with enough animation for an army of Nibelungs"
Evening Standard, Barry Millington (February 2020)
"Adrian Thompson's mincing, mocking Mime, one of those 110 per cent performances destined to stay in the memory"
The Times, Geoff Brown (February 2020)
“I'm not sure I have seen any singer in a concert performance bring such energy and sheer range to the character he is portraying. Thompson's skill isn't to make us entirely forget that Mime is fundamentally evil - though perhaps, we got rather more deviousness than outright evil on this occasion. Thompson doesn't exactly skimp on the comedic elements of Mime, however. His constant whinging that he cannot forge a new sword from the smashed fragments of Notung, his howls tempered with groans are all emphasised...What was also so notable about Thompson's Mime was the quality of the singing. Here we had a tenor with clarion high notes and a solid bottom register - a remarkably complete performance of the role."
Opera Today, Marc Bridle (February 2020)
