Thomas Atkins

Atkins’ 2026–27 season highlights include his highly anticipated La Scala debut as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress under the baton of Riccardo Chailly; his role debut as Kudrjaš in Káťa Kabanová at the Opéra national de Paris, conducted by Simone Young; and his return to the Norwegian National Opera in the role of Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress. On the concert platform, Atkins appears as Števa in Jenůfa with the Bamberg Symphony and at the National Theatre Brno under the baton of Jakub Hrůša; as the tenor soloist in Britten’s War Requiem with the Orchestre de Paris under Marin Alsop; and as the soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Pablo Heras-Casado. Further highlights include Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and Symphony No. 9 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Verdi’s Requiem with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder; and a tour of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bamberg Symphony under Jakub Hrůša.

Last season, Atkins returned to the role of Andrej Chowanskij in Khovanshchina; returned to the Salzburg Easter Festival as Froh in a new production of Das Rheingold under the baton of Kirill Petrenko; and appeared as Ralph in HMS Pinaforewith English National Opera. On the concert platform, he made his debut with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä as Hémon in the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin’s Antigone; performed Froh in Das Rheingold in concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Berliner Philharmonie; appeared as the tenor soloist in The Dream of Gerontius with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra; and sang Števa in Act II of Jenůfa in concert with the Bamberg Symphony, conducted by Jakub Hrůša.

Other recent operatic appearances include Tom Rakewell in a new production of The Rake’s Progress at the Norwegian National Opera; his role and company debut at English National Opera as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore; his return to the Royal Opera House as Števa in Jenůfa; and Andrej Chowanskij in a new production of Khovanshchina at the Salzburg Easter Festival, directed by acclaimed British actor and director Simon McBurney. Further highlights include his role and house debut as Števa in Jenůfa at Teatro de la Maestranza; his company debut as Lensky in Eugene Onegin at the Semperoper Dresden; Rodolfo in La bohème for his debut at Gothenburg Opera; Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progressfor his role debut at Glyndebourne; Alfredo in La traviata in Hamburg; Don José in Carmen at the Opéra de Rouen Normandie; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Danish Opera; his role debut as Boris in Káťa Kabanová at Grange Park Opera; and Narraboth in Salome at the Royal Opera House. Further notable appearances include Roderigo in Amélie Niermeyer’s production of Otello at the Bayerische Staatsoper; his company debut at the Opéra national de Paris as Der Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer; appearances with the Israeli Opera and Opera Holland Park as Lensky in Eugene Onegin; Tamino in a semi-staged production of Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne; and Kudrjaš in a new production of Káťa Kabanová, directed by Damiano Michieletto, for the Glyndebourne Festival. He has also performed Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera North, Gothenburg Opera, and New Zealand Opera; Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Opéra de Montpellier; and Gastone in La traviata at the Royal Opera House.

Highlights of recent concert engagements include appearances as the tenor soloist in Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Nürnberger Symphoniker and in Britten’s War Requiem with the Fondazione Teatro Massimo di Palermo and the Dresden Philharmonic under Sir Donald Runnicles; performances with The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder in Verdi’s Requiem; Ensemble Pygmalion under the baton of Raphaël Pichon for a European tour of Mendelssohn’s Elijah; the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu for Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang; the Royal Northern Sinfonia for Bruckner’s Mass No. 3, conducted by Dinis Sousa; the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève as Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, conducted by Marc Leroy-Calatayud; and the Insula Orchestra at Brucknerhaus Linz for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Laurence Equilbey. Other highlights include joining Marin Alsop and the London Symphony Orchestra in performances of Bernstein’s Candide; his debut with The Hallé under Sir Mark Elder as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly; appearing in the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala at Wigmore Hall; and his debut with Opera Rara as Empsaele in Il Paria at the Barbican with the Britten Sinfonia under Sir Mark Elder. Further engagements include Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Richard Farnes at the Barbican; performances at the Yakushiji Otobutai in Japan with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder; Tippett’s A Child of Our Time; Mozart’s Requiem; Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ; Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor; Handel’s Messiah; Verdi’s Requiem; Rossini’s Stabat Mater; and opera galas in Budapest.

Atkins is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he was supported by the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation and the New Zealand Arts Foundation Patronage. He was a finalist in the Guildhall School’s Gold Medal competition in 2015 and is the recipient of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Award, the Sheila Prior Prize, the Phoebe Patrick Award, and the Vianden International Summer School Award—all from the 2012 IFAC Australian Singing Competition.