Thomas Allen (baritone)
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Sir Thomas Allen (born September 10, 1944) is an English baritone opera singer from Seaham Harbour, County Durham.
Allen has performed Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Don Alfonso, Ulisse and Don Giovanni at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Don Giovanni at La Scala, Yeletsky (in The Queen of Spades), Sharpless (in Madama Butterfly), and the title role in Sweeney Todd at the Royal Opera House, Eisenstein at the Glyndebourne Festival, Don Alfonso at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals, Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen) at the San Francisco Opera and Beckmesser (in The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Allen also appears in recital in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, in Australia and America. The greatest part of his repertoire has been extensively recorded with such distinguished names as Georg Solti, James Levine, Sir Neville Marriner, Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Riccardo Muti.
Thomas Allen's first book, Foreign Parts - A Singer's Journal was published in 1993. He recently directed for the first time in Albert Herring at the Royal College of Music, Così fan Tutte and Don Giovanni (for the Samling Foundation, of which he is the patron) at the Sage Music Centre in Gateshead. In 2007, he directed a new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Scottish Opera.
Allen has performed with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for thirty-five years. He has sung over forty roles with the company.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York was also celebrated in 2006.
[edit] Honours
- Bayerischer Kammersänger, awarded by the Bayerische Staatsoper.
- Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music.
- Prince Consort Professor of the Royal College of Music.
- the Hambro Visiting Professorship of Opera Studies at Oxford University.
- Fellowship of the Royal College of Music
- Fellowship of the University of Sunderland
- M.A. from University of Newcastle
- D.Mus. from Durham University and the University of Birmingham.
- In the New Year's Honours of 1989 he was created a Commander of the British Empire
- In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor.
His film credits include The Real Don Giovanni and Mrs Henderson Presents.
