Thomas Hampson is an American baritone, born in Spokane, Washington in 1953. His career has taken him to all the world's most prestigious stages and concert halls. He travels thousands of miles to perform every year and is one of today's most respected, innovative and sought-after soloists.
Hampson made his European debut in D┬╕sseldorf, in 1981, at the age of twenty five. His work then took him to Zurich, Salzburg, Vienna, Munich, Florence and New York, where he sang the lead baritone roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro.
His concert work ranges from Mahler to Monteverdi and from Bach to Bernstein. He has appeared as a soloist under the baton of many world-famous conductors including Seiji Ozawa, and Daniel Barenboim. As a performer he is committed to song recitals, singing thoughtfully researched and creatively constructed programmes that explore the rich diversity of song idioms and styles. His work has been acclaimed for musicianship and interpretive sensitivity as well as sheer vocal beauty.
In his fifteen year career, he has sung leading operatic roles in the works of Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Puccini (La Boheme), Gounod (Faust), Britten (Billy Budd), and many others. In 1994 he created the role of the Vicomte de Valmont in the world premier of Conrad Susa/Philip Littell's The Dangerous Liaisons, in San Francisco.
Hampson is one of the most impressively recorded artists of his generation. He appears on eight major labels, among them Angel/EMI with which he is now exclusively committed for the solo repertoire. His recording awards include six Grammy nominations, two Edison Prizes, three 1994 Gramophone Awards, the Grand Prix du Disque and the esteemed Toblacher Prize for his recent Mahler recordings.
He also received the 1994 German critic's Echo Preis for Best Male Singer, Classical Music Awards' Male Singer of the Year, Musical America's Vocalist of the Year, and, in 1992, the M┬╕nchener Abendzeitung's Stern des Jahres (Star of the Year).
