Thomas Hampson (baritone)

Thomas Hampson (born June 28, 1955, Elkhart, Indiana) is an American lyric baritone.

Thomas Hampson grew up in Spokane, Washington. He studied with Marietta Coyle, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Martial Singher, and Horst Günther. In 1980 he took the second prize at the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition, and in 1981 first place in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In 1992, Hampson earned a BA degree in Government from Eastern Washington University. He also studied at the Music Academy of the West.

As the protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Hampson recorded Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with him for Deutsche Grammophon, a recording that is widely appreciated. After this and up to the time of the conductor's death, Thomas Hampson contributed to many major Bernstein recordings.

Today considered one of America's leading baritones, Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a wide range of roles: the title roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Guillaume Tell, Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin; Figaro in Rossini's Barber of Seville, Germont in Verdi's La traviata and more recently also Amfortas in Wagner's Parsifal and Scarpia in Tosca. In 2003 his recording of Wagner's Tannhäuser received the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. On 20 December 2008 he sang Athanaël in the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD video transmission of Jules Massenet's Thaïs.

Thomas Hampson is also a celebrated lieder singer (Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf, Joseph Marx, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and others) and a soloist of choice for the world's leading conductors. He is also noted for his renditions of Aaron Copland's Old American Songs. He has appeared in all major opera houses and concert halls. His impressive discography includes many award-winning recordings.

Hampsong Foundation

In 2003, he founded the Hampsong Foundation dedicated to the promotion of art song in America, which supports research and young artists through research projects, symposia, masterclasses, debuts, and concert lectures. In 2009, the Hampsong Foundation launched the Song of America Database which catalogs the development of art song in America. Based on Hampson's 1997 "I Hear America Singing" project (which was in conjunction with the Library of Congress), the current database provides information about American composers and writers/poets, as well as specific song cycles and individual songs. The database also provides a wealth of resources for further research in the field of American song, culture, and history. Of particular note is the Timeline feature, which relates the development of American art song to events in political and cultural history. Hamsong has parleyed the Song America project into a radio program of the same name.

References

• Crutchfield, Will (1988, 24 February), 'Music: Thomas Hampson' The New York Times. Accessed 31 August 2007.
• Rothstein, Edward (1991, 14 February), 'Review/Opera; Thomas Hampson as the Barber' The New York Times. Accessed 31 August 2007.
• 'Thomas Hampson, Baritone, Plans Debut' (1986, 13 March) The New York Times. Accessed 31 August 2007.

Sources

• Official website of Thomas Hampson
• Official website of the Hampsong Foundation
• LOC Biography (American 2006 tour)
• PBS Site (American Dreams 1990s tour)
• Bryce, Peter. "Understanding Your Life Through Music: A Mahler Scholar Brings His Passion to DC", Washingtonian, January 30 20068
• Thomas Hampson in photographs by Wolf Kettler
• Thomas Hampson speaks about the "Werther"'s baritone version