Margaret Thompson Mezzosoprano     |   home
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Biography


 The New York Mezzo-Soprano Margaret Thompson will perform “Flora” in La Traviata at the Kennedy Center with Washington Opera in their 2008-09 season. She will be heard as “Jo” in Opera Delaware's production of Little Women in May 2008. She also sings the “Alto Solo” in Händel's Messiah at place Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall Dec 2007. Ms. Thompson covered Roselind Elias as “The Baroness” at New York City Opera November 2007. She sang with Karita Mattila in LA Opera's Jenufa and covered for Lioba Braun as “Venus” in Tannhäuser. She also sang “Hänsel” in Hänsel und Gretel for LA Opera in 2007. She also appeared at the Kennedy Center singing “Suzuki” in Madame Butterfly with the Washington Opera November 2006. For LA Opera's 20th Year Gala, Ms. Thompson performed “Emelia” in Othello with Patricia Racette as “Desdemona” and Plácido Domingo as “Othello”. She sang at Lincoln in April 2006 in Bach's B-Minor Mass at Avery Fisher Hall. She sang ”Octavian” and “Annina” in Der Rosenkavalier for Los Angeles Opera in 2005 as well as “Suzuki” in Robert Wilson's production of Madame Butterfly in 2006. She also performed “Olga” in LA Opera's world premiere of Deborah Drattell's Nicholas and Alexandra with Plácido Domingo singing “Rasputin” and Mstislav Rostropovich conducting.

Ms. Thompson made her Wagnerian debut as “Rossweisse” in Madrid with Placido Domingo, Waltruad Meier and Alan Titus in 2003 and was most recently heard singing the “Flower Maiden” and “Alto Soloist” in Parsifal again with Placido Domingo for LA Opera.


 She began her career in the opera houses of Germany and Austria where she sang over 70 operatic and oratorio roles such as Octavian, Charlotte, Eboli, Sesto, Rosina, Composer and Cherubino, and has performed with Vladimir Chernov, Patricia Racette, Matti Salminen, Dolora Zajick, Wolfgang Brendel, Alan Titus and conductors such as Peter Schneider, James Conlon, Julius Rudel, Kent Nagano, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lawrence Foster, Asher Fisch and Gabrielle Ferro.

Her career has expanded into such rarities as “Anna” in Kurt Weill's Die Bürgschaft at the Spoleto Festival from which the first complete recording of the opera was released by EMI Classics. At Carnegie Hall she sang “Charmian” in Antony and Cleopatra with Carol Vaness. She also sang “Nastassja” in the world premiere of Thomas Blomenkamp's The Idiot in 2001. She performed the title role in the first German premiere of Theo Loevendie's Esmée which was recently released on CD, “Margareta” in Schumann's Genoveva, “The Queen” in Heinrich Marschner's Hans Heiling, “Berta” in Judith Weir's The Blond Eckbert, “The Witch” in Rusalka, and ”The Mother/Alto” in Franz Schmidt's The Book with Seven Seals.

Ms. Thompson was chosen by Christa Ludwig to receive the “Tirolian Academy” First Prize and was nominated as “Best Young Singer” in the 1999 OPERNWELT Yearbook. She was awarded the "Bielefelder Operntaler", a silver medallion, for "Best Singer of the Year" and was a finalist/prize winner in the IV. International "Sylvia Gezsty" Coloratura Competition held in Luxembourg.
 

February 2006
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A highly acclaimed recital singer, she sings at Lincoln Center in April 2006 in Bach's B-Minor Mass at Avery Fisher Hall.  T hompson has been celebrated in such masterworks of the german concert stage as the Alto Soloist in the B minor Mass, the Cantata NR. 62, Magnificat, and Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart´s C minor Mass, his Litaniae de venerabli altaris sacramento, and his Requiem, to Beethoven´s 9th Symphony, Händel´s Messiah, Mendelsohn´s Elijah. Her special affinity for the works of Gustav Mahler such as Das Lied von der Erde, and Das klagende Lied have led to adventures in French oratorio masterworks as well, among them Berlioz´s Roméo et Juliette,  Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio, and the Duruflé Requiem. Italian oratorio's Rossini´s Stabat Mater, and Verdi´s Requiem are regular parts of her Oratorio Repertoire.  Lesser known works such as Fanny Mendelsohn´s Hiob, Felix Mendelsohn´s Walpurgisnacht, Carl-Maria von Weber´s Jubel Mass, Heinrich von Herzogenberg´s Birth of Christ, Franz Schmidt´s Book with Seven Seals, and Robert Schumann´s Scenes from Goethe´s Faust round out her rarities of the German romantic period. From the modern repertoire, Thompson has sung Te Deums composed by Kodály and Penderecki.