‘‘Thompson delivered all the goods.”
/ SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE /
Kevin Thompson, acclaimed by the New York Times as a “stentorian bass”, “possesses a voice with extraordinary range, depth, color combined with a commanding stage presence…a mountain of a voice, with resonance from the Escorial of Philip II to the throne of Boris Godunov, and the majestic court of Sarastro…” (San Francisco Classical Voice).
This season 2025-2026, he returns to Washington National Opera as Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, debuts Herny in Jake Haggie’s Intelligence at Virginia Opera, and he brings two signature roles Timur to Detroit Music Hall in Turandot, and the Bonze to Fort Worth Opera for their Madama Butterfly. Last season, Mr. Thompson joined Florentine Opera as the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Washington Opera Society as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Opera Southwest for Verdi’s Requiem, Eureka Symphony for Messiah, Colline in La Boheme in Puglia, Italy, and Man in Window/ Old Man Youth/ Convict at Bard Music Festival for Martinů's Julietta.
In recent seasons, the acclaimed bass performed and reprise his performances of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni for Opera Colorado and San Antonio Opera, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Opera Grand Rapids, and Il Re in Aida with Fort Worth Opera. Mr. Thompson has made house debuts at Atlanta Opera as Charles Jenkins in Forsyth County is Flooding, with Washington National Opera in Elektra, as both Der Pfleger des Orest and Ein Alter Diener, Utah Opera in Rigoletto as Sparafucile, as well as the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette for Dallas Opera. He has sung the King/ Baobab/ Hunter in The Little Prince with Utah Opera, Timur in Turandot with Fargo Moorhead Opera, and he sang Father Truelove in The Rake’s Progress with Lakes Area Music Festival; the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila with Bob Jones Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera; the First Nazarene in Salome with Tulsa Opera; Oroveso in Norma with Festival Opera; and he was seen in the world premiere of Southern Crossings by Zaid Jabri at Barnard College in New York City; Odyssey Opera he performed Rachmaninoff’s Troika: The Old Gyspy in Aleko, Ivan in The Miserly Knight, and The Ghost of Virgil in Francesca da Rimini; Canterbury in Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII and Pistol in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love; the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila with Bob Jones Opera; Oroveso in Norma with Festival Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera; and the First Nazarene in Salome with Tulsa Opera; He has sung in two world premiere of Southern Crossings by Zaid Jabri at Barnard College in New York City and as Church Jenkins in Forsyth County is Flooding with Atlanta Opera.
In concert Mr. Thompson has scenes as the title role in Boito’s Mefistofele with Opera Omaha for the Opera Outdoors Concert; he sang Verdi’s Requiem and Opera Gems Gala Concert with Roanoke Opera; Verdi’s Requiem with Chautauqua Symphony; Idaho Civic Symphony, he sang Mozart Requiem with St. Louis Symphony and Eureka Symphony; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Florida Orchestra; Missa Solemonis with The Washington Chorus and the Trinty Church Wall Street NYC and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Florida Orchestra. Solo Concert engagements includes Bass Arias in Concert with Johnson City Symphony and Special guest artist with the Mobile Symphony’s annual Christmas concert.
In the pandemic season of 2020/2021, Mr. Thompson made his debut in Bulgaria with Ruse State Opera singing the role of Polonius in the world premiere of Hamlet by Joseph Summer. In the same season, Thompson was seen in Rigoletto twice: as Sparafucile with Shreveport Opera, and as Monterone with Tulsa Opera. Thompson also joined Tulsa Opera for their Greenwood Overcomes concert, in addition to engagements with Pocono Mountains Music Festival and Opera Omaha.
Mr. Thompson has performed in opera houses and concert venues throughout the world, under the baton of many an esteemed conductor, including Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, South America, Switzerland, and the United States. Thompson has made debuts with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, Bard Opera, National Philharmonic, The Florida Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Odyssey Opera, Hannover Staatsoper, Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre in Ecuador, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Hong Kong Opera, Teatro Regio Parma, Ruse State Opera, Theater Kiel, the Gasteig in Munich, and the Wexford Opera.
Many of Mr. Thompson’s previous roles include: Ramfis and Il Re (Aida); Osmin (Die Entführung as dem Serail); Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte); Mephistophélès (Faust); Oroveso (Norma); Sparafucile and Monterone (Rigoletto); Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos); Banco (Macbeth); Lodovico (Otello); Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni); Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor); Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia); The Old Gypsy (Aleko); Colline (La Boheme); Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd); Ned (Treemonisha); El Captain (Florencia en el Amazonas); Hans Schwartz (Die Meistersinger); and Stefano Colona (Rienzi). As a concert soloist, Thompson’s engagements have included Verdi’sRequiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater; Haydn’s The Creation and the Lord Nelson Mass; and Stravinsky’s Les Noces.
Mr. Thompson was born in Washington, D.C. He is an alumnus of The Juilliard School in New York, San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program, and the Santa Fe Opera Program. Recordings include Verdi’s Requiem with Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, Haggadah shel Pesach by Dessau with the American Symphony Orchestra, Thy will be done by Rice with the National Choral Society, Polonius in Joseph Summer’s Hamlet and as King Soliman in Gounod’s La Reine de Saba with Odyssey Opera.