Biography
The Icelandic bass-baritone, Tómas Tómasson, studied at the Reykjavik College of Music and at the Royal College of Music in London, where he graduated with distinction. His vast repertoire ranges from Monteverdi, Verdi and Puccini, Wagner and Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev to Zemlinsky and Glass.He made his role debut in the Heldenbariton repertoire as Tomsky/The Queen of Spades at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, followed by the title roles of Der fliegende Holländer (also at Théâtre de la Monnaie) and Wozzeck at Opéra National de Lorraine Nancy.
Over the course of his career, Tómasson performed at renowned houses such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Dresden Semperoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, State Opera Hamburg, Opera Cologne, Teatro dell‘Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio Turin, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Teatro Real de Madrid, Théâtre de la Monnaie Brussels, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Royal Danish Opera Copenhagen, Lyric Opera Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera and Washington National Opera.
He collaborated with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, Andris Nelsons, Simone Young, René Jacobs, Stefan Soltesz, Hartmut Haenchen, Mark Elder, Carlo Rizzi, James Conlon, Juraj Valčuha, Ingo Metzmacher, Jakub Hrůša, Lorin Maazel and Semyon Bychkov.
Highlights of the past include Klingsor/Parsifal at Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin under the baton of Daniel Barenboim and at the Lyric Opera Chicago, Jochanaan/Salome, Kunrad/Feuersnot and Holländer/Der fliegende Holländer at the Dresden Semperoper, Wotan/Das Rheingold/Walküre at Ópera de Oviedo, Wanderer/Siegfried at Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tomsky/The Queen of Spades at the Vienna State Opera and at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Hans Sachs/Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Komische Oper Berlin, the title role in Reimann‘s Lear at Komische Oper Berlin, Opera Frankfurt and the Hungarian State Opera Budapest, Telramund/Lohengrin at Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Dino in the world premiere of Beat Furrer‘s La Bianca Notte at the State Opera Hamburg, as well as Amfortas in the controversial world premiere of Jonathan Meese’s Mondparsifal Alpha 1-8 at the Wiener Festwochen under Simone Young, and Mondparsifal Beta 9-23 at the Berliner Festwochen.
The most recents highlights on the opera stage were Holländer/Der fliegende Holländer and Wotan/Die Walküre in Bari, Wotan//Wanderer in Wagner‘s Ring as well as Dikoy in Janáček’s Katia Kabanova at Grand Théâtre de Genève, Wotan/Die Walküre and Tomsky/The Queen of Spades at Teatro di San Carlo Naples, Amfortas and Klingsor/Parsifal at the Hungarian State Opera Budapest, Amfortas/Parsifal in Palermo, Herrscher/Das Wunder der Heliane in Antwerp and Gent, Dr. Kolenaty in Janáček‘s The Makropulos Affair at Opera Zurich (staging: Dmitri Tcherniakov), Samson et Dalila at the Washington National Opera, the world premiere of Péter Eötvös’ new opera „Sleepless“/Man in Black at Staatsoper Unter den Linden with revivals in Geneva and Budapest, Orest/Elektra at Paris’ Opéra Bastille (Robert Carsen/Semyon Bychkov) and at the Irish National Opera in Dublin, where he also celebrated his role debut as Scarpia/Tosca, Napoleon in Prokofiev’s War and Peace as well as the title role in Reimann’s Lear at the Bavarian State Opera, and most recently Jochanaan in Strauss’ Salome in Tokyo.
On the concert stage he sang Verdi’s Requiem, J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s The Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, as well as Mahler’s Symphony No 8.
In the season 2024/25 Tómasson will perform the role of Klingsor/Parsifal at the Berlin State Opera (Philippe Jordan/Dmitri Tcherniakov) and the title role in Reimann’s Lear at the Prague State Opera. Furthermore, he can be heard as Alberich in Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, again with the Dallas Symphony and Fabio Luisi, as well as in Das Rheingold in Beijing and Siegfried in Hangzhou.
Concerts lead him to Tokyo with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (NHK Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi).
Management
General ManagementArtist Manager
Ingunn Sighvatsdóttir
Artist Manager
ingunn@orlob.net
Mobil: +49-173-2 067 821
Repertoire
Repertoire Concert
Bach, J.S. | Christmas Oratorio |
Magnificat | |
St. John Passion | |
St. Matthew Passion | |
Beethoven | Symphony no 9 |
Brahms | Ein deutsches Requiem |
Cherubini | Missa solemnis in d-moll |
Dvorak | Requiem |
Stabat Mater | |
Elgar | The Apostles |
Händel | Dettinger Te Deum |
Haydn | The Creation |
Nelson Messe | |
The Seasons | |
Honegger | Cantate de Noêl |
Mahler | Symphony no 8 |
Mozart | Mass in c minor |
Requiem | |
Schumann | Das Paradies und die Peri |
Tippett | A Child of our Time |
Verdi | Requiem |
Repertoire Opera
Balada | Faust-bal | Mefistófeles |
Beethoven | Fidelio | Don Pizarro |
Bellini | Norma | Oroveso |
La sonnambula | Conte Rodolfo | |
Berg | Wozzeck | Wozzeck |
Berlioz | Les Troyens | Panthée |
Bizet | Carmen | Escamillo |
Britten | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Snug |
Peter Grimes | Hobson | |
Donizetti | L'elisir d'Amore | Dulcamara |
Lucia di Lammermoor | Raimondo | |
Eötvös | Sleepless (UA) | Man in black |
Furrer | La bianca notte | Dino |
Glass | Akhnaten | Aye |
Orphee | Judge | |
Händel | Alcina | Melisso |
Semele | Cadmus/Somnus | |
Hindemith | Das Nusch Nuschi | Kyce Wang/Zeremonienmeister |
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen | 2. Krieger | |
Janacek | The Makropulos Case | Dr. Kolenaty |
Katia Kabanova | Dikoj | |
Korngold | Das Wunder der Heliane | Herrscher |
Lang | Parzefool | Amphortas |
Leoncavallo | Pagliacci | Tonio |
Marschner | Der Vampyr | Lord Ruthven |
Mascagni | Cavalleria rusticana | Alfio |
Massenet | Werther | Le Bailli |
Monteverdi | Orfeo | Plutone |
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria | Antinoo/Tempo | |
Mozart | Don Giovanni | Don Giovanni |
Il Commendatore | ||
Masetto | ||
Così fan tutte | Don Alfonso | |
Die Zauberflöte | Sarastro | |
La clemenza di Tito | Publio | |
Zaide | Osmin | |
Mussorgski | Boris Godunow | Pimen |
Sorochinski Fair | Cherevik | |
Prokofiev | The FIery Angel | Ruprecht |
The Love for Three Oranges | King of Clubs | |
War and Peace | Napoleon | |
Puccini | La bohème | Colline |
Tosca | Scarpia | |
Reimann | Lear | Lear |
Ruzicka | Celan | Der Ober, ein Mann |
Saint-Saens | Samson et Dalila | Abimélech |
Grand Prêtre de Dagon | ||
Schostakowitsch | Lady Macbeth von Mzensk | Boris |
Pope | ||
Sommerro | Eystein av Nidaros | Kong Sverre |
Strauss, R. | Arabella | Graf Waldner |
Ariadne auf Naxos | Truffaldino | |
Elektra | Orest | |
Feuersnot | Kunrad | |
Salome | Jochanaan | |
Tchaikovsky | Mazeppa | Mazeppa |
Queen of Spades | Tomsky | |
Eugene Onegin | Gremin | |
Verdi | Rigoletto | Rigoletto |
Sparafucile | ||
Don Carlos | Filippo II | |
Grand Inquisitore | ||
Frate | ||
La traviata | Giorgio Germont | |
Il trovatore | Conte di Luna | |
Ferrando | ||
Nabucco | Zaccaria | |
La forza del Destino | Il Marchese di Calatrava | |
Otello | Lodovico | |
Wagner | Der fliegende Holländer | Holländer |
Lohengrin | Telramund | |
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg | Hans Sachs | |
Hans Foltz | ||
Veit Pogner | ||
Das Rheingold | Wotan | |
Fasolt | ||
Fafner | ||
Die Walküre | Wotan | |
Siegfried | Wanderer | |
Fafner | ||
Tristan und Isolde | Kurwenal | |
Parsifal | Amfortas | |
Klingsor | ||
Weber | Der Freischütz | Kuno |
Zemlinsky | Der König Kandaules | Philebos/Koch |
Zimmermann | Die Soldaten | Wesener |
News
A new Ring is being forged!
Beijing is getting a new Ring, and several BOM artists are helping to forge it! The new staging by Italian stage director Stefano Poda features Bettina Ranch as Fricka, Tómas Tómasson as Alberich and Robert Bork as Donner, alongside colleagues such as Egils Siliņš (Wotan), Arnold Bezuyen (Mime) and Christian Franz (Loge).The production is conducted by Lü Jia and can be experienced at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts on the following nights:
August 28/30 & September 01/03, 2024
Further information:
www.chncpa.org/...
Media
ImagesPortrait
Photo: Arthur Bauer
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Photo: Arthur Bauer
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Photo: Arthur Bauer
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Photo: Arthur Bauer
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Photo: Arthur Bauer
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Photo: Tómas Tómasson
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Photo: Tómas Tómasson
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Photo: Tómas Tómasson
Download availableSamson et Dalila - Washington National Opera
Photo: Scott SuchmanMeistersinger/
Hans Sachs - Komische Oper Berlin
Photo: Monika RittershausMeistersinger/
Hans Sachs - Komische Oper Berlin
Photo: Monika RittershausLear/Lear - Komische Oper Berlin
Photo: Wolf SilveriLear/Lear - Komische Oper Berlin
Photo: Wolf SilveriVideo
The Flying Dutchman/
Dutchman
Gran Teatre del Liceu BarcelonaThe Queen of Spades/
Tomsky
Houston Grand Opera
Press
Das Rheingold / Dallas Symphony Orchestra /
16.10.24 / texasclassicalreview.com
"Tómasson's Alberich perhaps showed the greatest range, his rich baritone conveyed an initial playfulness when attempting to woo the Rhinemaidens before later embodying the megalomania of the despotic leader of the Nibelungs and finally his bitter curse over the loss of the ring."
The Makropulos Affair / Opéra national de Lyon /
20.06.24 / premiereloge-opera.com
"Tómas Tómasson offre sa voix de baryton solide et impérial au personnage de Jaroslav Prus"
Die Soldaten / Philharmonie de Paris /
28.01.24 / anaclase.com
"Grand bonheur, également, d'entendre à nouveau Tómas Tómasson en Wesener, le père de l'héroine autour de laquelle tourne le drame... et les soldats. Charismatique, comme à son habitude, le baryton-basse islandais campe le role avec une fermeté bien à lui mais sans aucune brutalité."
War & Peace / Bayerische Staatsoper München /
08.03.23 / seenandheard-international.com
"Tómas Tómasson was a stunning Napoleon, vocally and theatrically."
Lear / Bayerische Staatsoper München /
31.01.23 / ovb-heimatzeitungen.de
"Tómasson, der nun in die Fußstapfen von Ur-"Lear" Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau und Premierenbesetzung Christian Gerhaher tritt, liefert einen mehr als nur überzeugenden Gegnentwurf zu seinen Vorgängern. Mit markant gefärbter Stimme zeichnet er ein erschütterndes Porträt des langsam in den Wahnsinn gleitenden Königs."
Tosca / Irish National Opera /
13.07.22 / theartsreview.com
"bass-baritone Tómas Tómasson's superb Scarpia steals the show"
Tosca / Irish National Opera /
12.07.22 / irishtimes.com
"The most complete package in the cast is the bass-baritone Tómas Tómasson as the villainous police chief Scarpia "
Tosca / Irish National Opera /
12.07.22 / nomoreworkhorse.com
"Tómas Tómasson was excellent as the wicked Scarpia, exuding a suitable chilling persona"
Samson et Dalila / Washington National Opera /
02.03.20 / dctheatrescene.com
"with a dark vocal richness and impressive stage presence, he makes his mark in the work"
Samson et Dalila / Washington National Opera /
02.03.20 / washingtonclassicalreview.com
"displayed the best French pronounciation as well as a glossy, polished tone"
Parsifal / Teatro Massimo di Palermo /
29.01.20 / nmz.de
"Tómasson gibt einen klanggewaltigen Amfortas, der Todessehnsucht und einstige Machtfülle in seinem fülligen Tiefton vereint"
Die Walküre / Teatro di San Carlo Napoli /
12.05.19 / gbopera.it
"Robusta, ma così ricca di nuance, è l'interpretazione del basso Tómas Tómasson nel ruolo della divinità Wotan, ora postulente di pietà, ora despota perfetto."
Siegfried / Grand Théâtre de Genève /
20.03.19 / klassik-begeistert.de
"der mit seiner mächtigen Stimme schon als Wotan für sich einnahm"
Die Walküre / Grand Théâtre de Genève /
16.03.19 / klassik-begeistert.de
"Was Lang und Tómasson hier aufbieten, wenn sie um ihre Positionen ringen[...] ist großes, packendes Theater"
Das Rheingold / Grand Théâtre de Genève /
12.02.19 / opera-online.com
"avec une voix très assurée et d'une mâle beauté"
Das Rheingold / Grand Théâtre de Genève /
12.02.19 / forumopera.com
"un Wotan tour à tour veule et impérieux, vocalement très convaincant"