Gerald Thompson

Biography

Gerald Thompson made his operatic debut with Opera Theatre at Wildwood Park performing the roles of Don Ramiro in La Finta Giardiniera and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.

In 2005, he became a member of the prestigious Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera, and made his San Francisco Opera debut as Prince Go-Go in the American Premiere of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre. This success led to return engagements as Unulfo and Prince Orlofsky. He reprised the role of Unulfo for his European debut with Opera Barroca in Bilbao, Spain, and sang Bertarido in Rodelinda under the baton of Harry Bicket at the Canadian Opera Company.

Equally at home on the concert stage, he has also been a featured soloist at San Francisco Opera's annual Opera in the Park, Tulsa Opera's Messiah, The Yerba Buena Gardens Concert Series, Arizona Musicfest, Music at Meyer (San Francisco), Eureka Chamber Music Series, the Basically British Concert Series and New York Public Library's Donnell Concert Series.

In 2007 he made his Lyric Opera Chicago debut as Nireno in Giulio Cesare under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm, and appearances at Glimmerglass Opera Festival in the role of Tolomeo; at Portland Opera as Unulfo in Rodelinda and Endimione in La Calisto; Medoro in Orlando with the Moscow Philharmonic Society in one of the first public appearances in Russia by a countertenor. He also covered Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream at La Scala, Milan. In April 2007, Thompson made a double-barrelled New York debut, performing with both New York City Opera as Guido in Flavio and at the Metropolitan Opera as Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare.

Gerald Thompson began the 2009/10 season with his return to New York City Opera in the role of Hegai in Esther by Hugo Weisgall. The New Year heralded another European appearance in London, where he made his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, debut in the role of The Dog in The Cunning Little Vixen under the baton of Charles Mackerras. He also appeared as Narves in Carl Heinrich Graun's Montezuma at Potsdam's Musikfestspiele Sanssouci. Later in the season he returns to Europe to revive his appearances in Carl Heinrich Graun's Montezuma, in Paris and in Berlin.

Gerald Thompson begins the 2010-11 season with his debut at Pacific Opera Victoria in the role of Bertarido in Handel's Rodelinda – a role he sang in 2005 in the Canadian Opera Company's first production of Rodelinda.

In 2014 he took part in a world premiere of Nicholas Lens`s opera Shell Shock (The Missing, The Soldier, The Deserter), the production of the Royal Opera House La Monnaie in Brussels.

Among recent engagements Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at the Edmonton Opera (Canada), and Oberon in Britten`s A Midsummer Night's Dream (conducted by Pavel Poplawski) at the Theater Magdeburg. 

Gerald Thompson is honoured to be the recipient of the Spring 2007 Kolozsvar Award at New York City Opera, a 2006 Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant, and 2nd Prize in the Opera Division as well as International Media-Jury Prize winner at the 25th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Vocal Competition in 2006.