Thomas Hampson’s 2014/15 season
Thomas Hampson’s 2014/15 season features reprisals of his best-known roles, several debuts, international concert, recital, and festival engagements, master classes, and a new radio series produced by the Hampsong Foundation.
Following summer performances as Scarpia in Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, galas in Baden-Baden, Essen, Paris and Gstaad, and recital and concert engagements in Washington D.C., Minnesota, Boston, at Tanglewood, Munich, and Salzburg, Mr. Hampson returns to the operatic stage in the fall, revisiting signature roles including Scarpia at the Bavarian State Opera (September 20, 24 & 27), and Renato in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at San Francisco Opera (October 4, 10, 13, 16 & 19). Hampson returns to the Dresden State Opera as Mandryka in Strauss’ Arabella (November 7 & 10) and is joined by Renée Fleming in the title role, reprising their acclaimed partnership from last season at the Salzburg Easter Festival.
Hampson also makes two role debuts this season, singing the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann at The Metropolitan Opera (January 12, 16, 22, 27 & 31, and February 5), and King Arthus in a new production of Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus at the Opéra National de Paris (May 16, 19, 22, 25 & 28, and June 2, 5, 8, 11 & 14).
Mr. Hampson’s concert schedule includes appearances with the Vienna Symphony (November 15 & 16), the Nationaltheater Orchester in Mannheim (December 15 & 16), the Konzerthausorchester Berlin with Iván Fischer (December 19 & 20), and a performance of John Adams’ The Wound Dresser with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony (February 15). Later in the season, Hampson appears in concert with percussionist Martin Grubinger in Munich (March 2), performs a series with the Nashville Symphony, featuring the world premiere of songs by American composer Richard Danielpour (March 12, 13 & 14), and concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Mariss Jansons (March 19), the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg in Munich (March 24), and in Tel Aviv and Haifa with The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (June 17, 19, 20, 21 & 23).
Recital engagements include appearances at the Linz Opera House (November 21), the Herkulessal in Munich (December 10), Carnegie Hall, which includes a world premiere by American composer Jennifer Higdon (February 9), West Palm Beach, FL for The Society of The Four Arts (February 11), and a recital in collaboration with pianist Wolfram Rieger at the Musikverein Wien (April 19).
Hampson recently added a new album to his Deutsche Grammophon discography titled Notturno, featuring a curated selection of songs by Richard Strauss. The disc also highlights the talents of pianist Wolfram Rieger, Mr. Hampson’s frequent collaborator.
Thomas Hampson serves as Founder and Artistic Director of the Hampsong Foundation, which will produce a new radio series titled “Song: Mirror of the World,” scheduled to premiere this season. “Song: Mirror of the World” is a project of the Hampsong Foundation and co-produced by the WFMT Radio Network. It explores classic song as a global identifier of the culture from which it came. The series also takes a broad, humanities-based approach to the role of song in society, with a special focus on intercultural dialogues throughout the European continent, and between Europe and the United States.
A passionate educator, Hampson will return for master classes in 2015 at the Heidelberger Frühling’s Lied Academy, where he is co-founder and Artistic Director.