Praised for his “heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision” (Opera Magazine) and “gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), American tenor Russell Thomas has emerged as one of the defining dramatic voices of his generation. With a combination of vocal brilliance, expressive range, and riveting stage presence, he brings rare authenticity and intensity to both the Italian lyric and German dramatic repertoires. 

 

The 2025/26 season follows a landmark year in which Thomas added two major German roles to his repertoire: the Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and his first Tannhäuser at Houston Grand Opera under Erik Nielsen. Performances that signaled a powerful expansion into the heldentenor repertoire and cemented his reputation as an artist of exceptional dramatic weight and versatility. This season, he returns to leading roles such as Canio in Pagliacci (Lyric Opera of Chicago) and Don José in Carmen (Opéra national de Paris) and makes an important debut as Werther with the Canadian Opera Company. Concert highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Milwaukee Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Baltimore Symphony. Future engagements will see his return to the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, Washington National Opera, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra.