© 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 2021-22 season included Scott Stroman's new comic opera The Weekend at London's Bloomsbury Theatre and a return to Grange Park Opera. Much of his 2022-23 season is devoted to his role as professor of vocal studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
News
Peter Hoare and Adrian Thompson perform at Grange Park Opera
Posted 07/06/2021.
Peter Hoare makes his debut in the lead role as Mr Brouček and fellow tenor, Adrian Thompson, takes on the roles of Spoteck, Vojta, Raincek and Mirosla in Leoš Janáček's The Excursions of Mr Brouček at Grange Park Opera. David Pountney directs Janáček’s warm comedy of errors about a bourgeois landlord who gripes at the whole world and drowns his life in a glass of beer. Performed in English, the opera is conducted by George Jackson and other members of the cast include Fflur Wyn, Mark le Brocq, Andrew Shore, Clive Bayley and Anne-Marie Owens. The production opens on 9 June, with further performances on 18, 26, 29 June and 7 July.
Forthcoming highlights for Peter in the 2022-23 season include Steuermann Der Fliegende Hollander and Pong Turandot for the Hamburg State Opera and Governor Candide for the Opera de Lyon.
Adrian will be devoting much of his time to teaching as Professor of Vocal Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
For more information on the production, visit the Grange Park Opera 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
Scott Stroman 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)
