Thomas Hammons

Matinee Musicale will welcome Thomas Hammons in a recital at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 10345 Montgomery Road, in Montgomery, on Thursday, April 23rd at 11:00 am. Mr. Hammons is a graduate of CCM where he studied with Italo Tajo. He began his career as an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera in The Duchess of Malfi, and had his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1996, as the Sacristan in Tosca. He has returned to the MET every season thereafter for productions too numerous to list here.

He has been acclaimed throughout the United States, Canada, Japan and across Europe, for the depth and richness of his portrayals and the strength and beauty of his singing. A versatile singing actor, Mr. Hammons has an active repertoire of over 40 roles and he is equally at home in the classic basso buffo repertoire and in the world of modern music theater.

In the recent 2007-08 Season he returned to the MET for performances of War and Peace, Manon Lescaut and La Traviata. In the summer of 2008, he returned to Santa Fe Opera for Dansker in Billy Budd, and recreated his signature role of Kissinger in Nixon in China for Opera Colorado. His appearance at Matinee Musicale will coordinate with the Dayton Opera’s production of L’elisir d’amore. Also in 2008-09 he will appear with Opera Cleveland in Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, plus La Boheme and Der Meistersinger with the Cincinnati Opera. He will also have appearances with Opera Colorado, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Mr. Hammons created the role of Henry Kissinger in the world premiere of Nixon in China by John Adams for the Houston Grand Opera in 1987. His iconic portrayal of Kissinger was subsequently seen in Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Los Angeles, along with an important revival this past season at the Cincinnati Opera. His association with John Adams has continued with his participation in the inaugural performances of The Death of Klinghoffer at the Opera de la Monnaie, Brussels. Mr. Hammons' chilling portrayal of the terrorist Rambo has since been seen and heard in Lyons, Vienna, San Francisco and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His creations of these two seminal works can be heard on the Nonesuch recordings of Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer.

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