Thomas Michael Allen

Thomas Michael Allen, formerly known as Tom Allen, was born in Chicago and began his musical studies as a pianist. After earning a degree in English literature he received a Master's Degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music in New York in 1991. He has established a reputation for his vivid representations of a wide range of operatic roles, especially in leading belcanto parts and in haute contre roles of the French baroque. In opera he has worked with many leading directors including David McVicar, Laurent Pelly, Nigel Lowrey, Dieter Dorn and Graham Vick. He has sung at the Théatre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Zurich Opera, Staatsoper Berlin , Opera de Lyon, and Stuttgart Opera. In 2004 he received great acclaim for the role of Calisis in Rameau's Les Boréades under the baton of Marc Minkowski as well as the role of Lenia in Cavalli's Eliogabalo with René Jacobs. In 2005 he enjoyed a major success as the Demon in Hans Werner Henze's L'Upupa at the Opéra de Lyon. Recently he sang the role of the Painter in Berg's Lulu at the opening of the new Trianti Hall at Athens Megaron Concert Hall and Arnalta/Mercurio in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea at the Staatsoper Berlin and La Monnaie in Brussels under the direction of René Jacobs. As a concert artist he regularly appears in the great concert halls of Europe and has worked with such conductors as Kurt Masur, Helmuth Rilling, Simone Young, or Gary Bertini with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Academy for Ancient Music, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin , Les Musiciens du Louvre and the Gewand-hausorchester Leipzig. He has a wide and varied concert repertoire and has earned a reputation as one of the most sought-after Evangelists in the Passions of Bach. Thomas Michael Allen has made several commercial recordings including a recent release of Galuppi's La Diavolessa and a critically acclaimed DVD world premiere of Jacob ter Veldhuis's Paradiso for Chandos. (May 2006).