A Conversation with Russell Thomas

Photo by Fay Fox.

Russell Thomas, “a tenor of gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), returns to the McCaw Hall stage this January. Thomas sang the role of Ismaele in Nabucco (‘15), and we are excited to welcome him back as Aeneas in Les Troyens in Concert on January 17 & 19.

In this interview, he shares his favorite roles, his inspirations, his future goals, and more. 

Tell me about some of your first experiences with opera. When and how did you first start singing?

I grew up in Miami, Florida. There was no music in my home other than gospel. I learned about classical music and opera on a whim. I just turned on the radio one day and heard opera playing and I just fell in love with it. I learned later that I could sing and have been doing so ever since.

Who or what inspires you?

I’m obsessed with singing and singers. I love singers and I'm a huge fan of opera. That shapes how I view this business and how I operate in it, because I'm first a fan of the art form. I respect artists, especially vocal artists and the amount of work that they have to do. I have had many inspirations, but it's mainly just me being a fan of the art form. That's what fuels me.

I'm also a huge fan of the Canadian tenor Jon Vickers and the Italian tenor Mario Delmonico, and many of the other great tenors of the past. Dame Gwyneth Jones is probably my favorite soprano ever. There were a lot of these people that I grew up listening to that were a huge inspiration and became the bar for me to try to meet artistically, vocally, and technically. I still look up to them as the bar to be met as I'm singing. It's a big responsibility for me.

Jon Vickers in Peter Grimes in 1984. Photo by Zoe Dominic.

How did being a young artist at Seattle Opera in 2002/03 help your career? What does it mean to you to return to Seattle Opera?

Well, the most important thing about that time period was my getting to meet Speight Jenkins and getting to know him. He, too, is a huge fan of opera. Talking to him about opera and singers was a big deal for me. So, getting to be around somebody with that kind of knowledge and history in the business, was, in some ways, more important than anything else in Seattle. I think that getting access to him and his brain was major for me.

It has been a while since I've been back. I've been back a few times since my young artist days, but I always appreciate coming back to Seattle. I love the city.

Thomas as Rodolfo in the 2003 Young Artists Program production of La bohème. Photo by Angela Burke.

What are some of your favorite roles to perform/proudest moments on stage?

My favorite role to perform now is Don Alvaro in Verdi's La forza del destino. I love the repertoire of Verdi. I'm also starting to get more into the heldentenor repertoire, a German repertoire. I'm currently in New York singing the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten. Another favorite role of mine was Hoffman. I got to come back to Seattle and sing Hoffman, which was a lot of fun. Those for me are always highlights.

Thomas as Hoffman in The Tales of Hoffman (‘14). Photo by Elise Bakketun.

Aeneas is a debut role for you. What are you excited about in performing this role?

Les Troyens is an opera that I'm getting to know right now. It's not one that I have a lot of experience with even listening to. One of my heroes, Jon Vickers, sang the role of Aeneas a lot. So, again, it’s me stepping into the shoes of people that I think are giants in opera. That means a lot to me. I'm excited to sing this role that not very many tenors have had the opportunity to sing. I get to do this role that my hero got to sing and very few living tenors have gotten the opportunity to sing.

What goals do you have for the future?

To run an opera company. That's what I want to do. Everything that I do these days is with that in mind. My ultimate goal is to start in administration, by maybe running a young artist program, and then working my way through more responsibilities in the opera house.

What does community engagement mean to you?

I think that engaging with people who aren't often engaged with classical music and opera is important for the sustainability of the art form. With music education being so sparse around the country, I think it's important for arts organizations to step up and engage the community. That is important to me. I've tried to do a lot of that by mentoring and developing the next singers; the next young poor Black kid, or poor Latino kid, or poor Asian kid who is really interested in this art form. There's a space for them in it. That's a big deal for me. I think once audiences are really diverse, then the stage will be diverse, and the community will be more involved. This is the way opera survives. It's the only way it survives.

Outside of opera, what kind of music do you enjoy?

I listen to lot of rap, hip-hop, and R&B.

Russell Thomas returns to Seattle Opera this January for Hector Berlioz's epic Les Troyens in Concert, on stage January 17 & 19, 2025 at McCaw Hall.
For tickets and information, visit seattleopera.org/troyens.