Thomas Atkins

Sofia Fomina makes her role debut as Pamina in Barbe & Doucet’s new production of Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne on 18 July 2019, Glyndebourne's first new production of the opera in a decade. Fomina is joined by fellow cast members Bjorn Bürger and David Portillo as well as fellow Intermusica artists Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Thomas Atkins as Second Lady and Second Priest & First Armed Man. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. The production is broadcast live online and in cinemas on 4 August and is performed at the BBC Proms on 27 August.

Fomina’s recent engagements include Gilda Rigoletto at Bayerische Staatsoper and the Royal Opera House, Fiakermilli Arabella and Oscar Un ballo in maschera at Bayerische Staatsoper and Ännchen Der Freischütz with Marek Janowski and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming highlights include an anticipated role debut in the title role of Manon at Opéra de Paris, a house debut at Staatsoper Hamburg as Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos and Adele Die Fledermaus at Bayerische Staatsoper.

Recent highlights for Marta Fontanals-Simmons include her critically acclaimed performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Sibel Faust and Hel The Monstrous Child, Beethoven Symphony No.9 and Elgar Sea Pictures with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Bach Magnificat at the Royal Festival Hall with Kings College Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Upcoming highlights include her house and role debut as Eurydice Woman Mask of Orpheus with the English National Opera and Jennie Hildebrand Street Scene with Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

Recent highlights for Atkins include his company debut at Opéra de Montpellier as Lysander in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream, his role debut as Rodolfo in La bohème with New Zealand Opera, the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala at Wigmore Hall, his return to the Royal Opera House as Gastone in La traviata, Bernstein Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop and Empsaele in Donizetti Il Paria with Opera Rara under the baton of Sir Mark Elder. Upcoming highlights include his house debuts at Opera North and Göteborg Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème, Missa Solemnis with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski.

Thomas Atkins makes his company debut at Opéra de Montpellier on 8 May 2019, singing the role of Lysander in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ted Huffman’s new production is conducted by Tito Muñoz and also marks Atkins’ debut in the role. Premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1960, Britten’s opera was met with widespread critical approval. However, one dissenting voice was that of his estranged collaborator, the poet W.H. Auden, who dismissed it as “pure Kensington”. Nevertheless, it has gone on to become one of the most frequently performed operas written after the Second World War.

Upcoming highlights include his house debut as Rodolfo in Michael Barker-Caven's revival of La bohème with Opera North, his return to the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as the First Armed Man in Die Zauberflöte and Empsaele in Donizetti Il Paria with Britten Sinfonia and Opera Rara under the baton of Sir Mark Elder.

Recent highlights include his role debut as Rodolfo in La bohème with New Zealand Opera, the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala at Wigmore Hall, his return to the Royal Opera House as Gastone in La traviata and Bernstein Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop.

There are further performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on 10 and 12 May 2019. 

The BBC have announced the programme for the 125th BBC Proms, launching eight weeks of music-making of the highest quality, over 80 concerts and a host of world premieres. The festival also marks 150 years since the birth of Proms founder Sir Henry Wood and the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. As ever, Intermusica is well represented at the festival, with 24 artists taking part and our International Touring team bringing two world-class orchestras to the London stage. All concerts will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and several will be televised on BBC Four. See below for full details.

James Ehnes returns to the Proms on 22 July alongside an orchestra of Royal Academy of Music and Juilliard School students, to perform Britten Violin Concerto under the baton of Edward Gardner.

Mark Wigglesworth is joined by Nicola Benedetti and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on 25 July. Wigglesworth conducts the London premiere of Lera Auerbach Icarus (2011) followed by Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite. The concert will be televised on BBC Four on 28 July.

Simon Halsey and his numerous choirs feature throughout the Proms. On 29 July, the BBC Proms Youth Choir joins Omer Meir Wellber and the BBC Philharmonic for Haydn The Creation. Halsey then prepares the singers of the London Symphony Chorus and Orfeó Català as they join Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO to perform Walton Belshazzar’s Feast on 20 August. The concert will be shown on BBC Four on 23 August. Finally, more than 600 singers will unite for the European premiere of John Luther Adams In the Name of the Earth (2018) on 8 September.

On 2 August, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard perform Sir James MacMillan The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, which premiered at the Proms nearly 30 years ago in 1990. The concert will be televised live on BBC Four. MacMillan is currently celebrating his 60th birthday with a year of special performances – visit jamesmacmillan.co.uk to see the full MacMillan at 60 calendar.

Ben Gernon and the BBC Philharmonic (where he is Principal Guest Conductor) give two performances. On 5 August, Gernon conducts a programme of Malcolm Arnold Peterloo Overture, Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with soloist Alexander Gavrylyuk and excerpts from Tchaikovsky Swan Lake. They repeat the concert the following morning in a Relaxed Prom, in which the concert environment is adapted to better suit audience members with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory, communication or learning difficulties.

Natalya Romaniw makes her Proms debut on 8 August, joining the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Tadaaki Otaka to sing Rachmaninov The Bells.

John Wilson returns to the Proms on 9 August, conducting his John Wilson Orchestra in a concert televised live on BBC Four, celebrating the golden age of the Warner Brothers studios.

On 10 August, Lise Davidsen reunites with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom she recently recorded her highly anticipated debut album for Decca (out 31 May). She will sing Richard Strauss Op.27 Songs, which also feature on the album. 

On 13 August, Martyn Brabbins conducts a special concert with personal significance: it features the world premiere of Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M. C. B., a new take on Elgar Enigma Variations commissioned by the BBC to mark Brabbins’ 60th birthday. This unique work features a new set of variations by 14 living composers including Intermusica’s Brett Dean, Sally Beamish, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Dai Fujikura – plus one distinguished mystery composer to write the theme. Brabbins also conducts Elgar’s original Variations as well as Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music and Brahms Song of Destiny, featuring the BBC Singers and English National Opera Chorus. The concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Four on 8 September.

Also on the 13 August, Martin James Bartlett performs in a late-night mixtape concert, exploring the fringes of Minimalism and meditative listening. Joined by 12 Ensemble, Tenebrae and director Nigel Short, Bartlett will perform the slow movement from Bach Keyboard Concerto in F minor; Chopin Nocturne in D flat major, Max Richter Vladimir’s Blues and Peteris Vasks Fruits of Silence.

Andreas Haefliger returns to the Proms on 19 August for the world premiere of a new Piano Concerto written especially for him by fellow Swiss musician Dieter Ammann. He is joined for the concert by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo. This new work is co-commmissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Wien, Lucerne Festival, Münchner Philharmoniker and Taipei Symphony Orchestra. 

Singers Sofia Fomina, Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Thomas Atkins appear in Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Mozart The Magic Flute on 27 August. Fomina stars in the concert staging as Pamina while Fontanals-Simmons sings Second Lady and Atkins takes the roles of Second Priest and First Man in Armour.

Anthony Gregory makes his Proms debut on 29 August, singing Hugh Wood Scenes from Comus with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Richard Egarr returns to the Proms on 30 August to conduct the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (with whom he has a long association) Handel Jeptha, part of a cycle celebrating the composer’s works. The cast features Tim Mead as Hamor and Cody Quattlebaum as Zebul.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner completes his epic five-season Berlioz series on 2 September, conducting a performance of his opera Benvenuto Cellini with his Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.

Leonidas Kavakos joins Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Vienna Philharmonic on 4 September to perform Korngold Violin Concerto.

Yuja Wang is the soloist for Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 with Staatskapelle Dresden and Myung-Whun Chung on 5 September.

Nora Fischer makes her Proms debut on 8 September, giving the UK premiere of Louis Andriessen The only one (2018) alongside Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

On 10 September, Intermusica brings the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov to the Proms. The concert features Smetana The Bartered Bride, the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin and Shostakovich Symphony No.8.

Nicholas Collon and his Aurora Orchestra return to the Proms on 12 September presenting another eagerly anticipated major symphony from memory. This year they present Berlioz Symphonie fantastique in an immersive theatrical staging. Collon and the orchestra will give a repeat performance in a late-night Prom that same evening and BBC Four will record the first performance for broadcast on 13 September.

As the festival draws to a close, Intermusica’s International Touring team brings a second orchestra to London: on 13 September, Andrew Manze returns with his NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover for Beethoven Night, in which Manze conducts extracts from Fidelio and Symphony No.5, as well as music by Handel and Bach.

Thomas Atkins returns to the Royal Opera House on 14 January 2019 to star as Gastone in Richard Eyre’s production of La Traviata, conducted by Antonello Manacorda.

Thomas Atkins’s season highlights include his role debuts as Rodolfo La bohème with New Zealand Opera and Lysander in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opéra de Montpellier as well as his return to the Glyndebourne Festival to star as the First Armed Man Die Zauberflöte, Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala at Wigmore Hall and an Opera Rara recording of Donizetti’s Il Paria at the Barbican, under the baton of Sir Mark Elder.

Performances of La traviata run until 30 January.

Nardus Williams and Thomas Atkins perform in the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Gala, which takes place at Wigmore Hall on 14 December 2018. Both artists are former Kiri Te Kanawa Scholars. The concert also features singers Bianca Andrews, Phillip Rhodes and Julien Van Mellaerts, and pianists Gary Matthewman and Jake Heggie.

Praised for her "superbly controlled, sensuous soprano" (Opera Today), Williams is a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio for the 2018/19 season, where roles include Mimí La bohème and Donna Anna Don Giovanni.

Thomas Atkins’s season highlights include his role debuts as Rodolfo La bohème with New Zealand Opera and Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opéra de Montpellier as well as returns to Royal Opera House as Gastone La Traviata, First Armed Man Die Zauberflöte at the Glyndebourne Festival and an Opera Rara recording of Donizetti’s Il Paria at the Barbican under the baton of Sir Mark Elder.

The Gala concert features art songs by Strauss, Mozart and Duparc and arias by Verdi and Puccini.

Marin Alsop returns to the London Symphony Orchestra this week to conduct them in Bernstein Candide on 8 and 9 December 2018. She conducts a cast that stars Intermusica's Leonardo Capalbo in the title role and Thomas Atkins in the ensemble, while Simon Halsey directs the London Symphony Chorus. Also performing are Jane Archibald as Cunegond, Anne Sofie von Otter as The Old Lady and Sir Thomas Allen as Dr Pangloss and The Narrator.

As one of Bernstein’s best known pupils, Alsop has been central to the 100th anniversary global celebrations and this return the LSO, an orchestra with whom she has a long and close-standing relationship, marks the end of the celebrations of the centenary year.

On 13 September, Thomas Atkins makes his debut as Rodolfo in a new production of La bohème with New Zealand Opera directed by Jacqueline Coats and conducted by Tobias Ringborg.

A recent graduate from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, this season Atkins makes a further role and company debut as Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opéra de Montpellier as well as returning to the Royal Opera House as Gastone La traviata and to the Glyndebourne Festival, where he was a Jerwood Artist in 2016.

Performances of La bohème run until 13 October. Click here for more information.

Intermusica is delighted to announce the signing of New Zealand lyric tenor Thomas Atkins, currently in his final year on the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House.

Atkins is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is a former Jerwood Young Artist at Glyndebourne, and throughout his career has been generously supported by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Upon his graduation from the programme this summer, Atkins makes anticipated debuts with Opéra de Montpellier as Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rodolfo La bohème with New Zealand Opera. He also returns to the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Festival.

Atkins' concert repertoire includes Tippett A Child of Our Time, Mozart Requiem, Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ, Vaughan Williams Mass in G Minor, Handel Messiah, Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Britten War Requiem and Rossini Stabat Mater.

Atkins will be managed by Maria Mot with support from Lottie Gulliver.

David Alden's new production of Wagner Lohengrin opens at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 7 June 2018. Conducted by Andris Nelsons, the production features Klaus Florian Vogt and Christine Goerke in the lead roles.

The production is Alden's second for the Royal Opera this season. His first, of Semirimade with Joyce DiDonato, premiered in November 2017 and won the Olivier Award for Best Opera Production. 

Alden's other highlights this season include Maria Stuarda for Opernhaus Zurich and a revival of his acclaimed production of Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro Real, Madrid.

The Lohengrin cast also includes Thomas Atkins, Simon Shibambu and Kostas Smoriginas, in the role of Herald, who returns to the Royal Opera House after singing Escamillo in Barrie Kosky’s new production of Carmen earlier this year. Atkins and Shibambu are currently members of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.