Sir Thomas Allen

Sir Thomas Allen is an established star of all the great opera houses. He has been particularly acclaimed for his Billy Budd, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, Ulisse and Beckmesser, as well as the great Mozart roles of Count Almaviva, Don Alfonso, Papageno and, of course, Don Giovanni.

At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, his most recent engagements have included the title role in Sweeney Todd, Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Prosdocimo (Il turco in Italia), Music Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel) and Don Alfonso. At the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich his recent appearances include Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Don Alfonso, Ulisse and Don Giovanni. He has sung the title role in Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera and at the Spoleto Festival; Faninal at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow; Eisenstein and Music Master at the Glyndebourne Festival; Don Alfonso at the Dallas Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals; and Beckmesser, Don Alfonso and Music Master at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

As a director, his projects have included Il Barbiere, le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflöte for Scottish Opera; Don Pasquale for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Cosi fan Tutte for the Boston Lyric Opera.

An acclaimed recitalist, he is equally renowned on the concert platform and has appeared with the world’s great orchestras and conductors.

He was made Chancellor of Durham University in 2012. In the New Year’s Honours of 1989 he was created a Commander of the British Empire and, in the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was made a Knight Bachelor. Among his proudest achievements is having a Channel Tunnel locomotive named after him; and most recently, being awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music 2013.