Opera Scotland

Elgan Llýr Thomas Suggest updates

Born Llandudno.

Welsh tenor.

Elgan Llýr Thomas studied in Manchester at the RNCM before completing an MA in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He then joined the GSMD Opera Course. He won the Stuart Burrows International Voice Award and the young artist award at the Azuriales Festival in Nice. He also received a Study Award from the Urdd National Eisteddfod Bryn Terfel Scholarship. He was a Scottish Opera Emerging Artist 2016/17, and is now an ENO Harewood Artist 2017/20.

Operatic appearances include the RNCM (title role Albert Herring); Welsh National Youth Opera (Johnny Inkslinger Paul Bunyan); OPRA Cymru (Macduff, Almaviva); GSMD (Florindo Le donne curiose by Wolf-Ferrari, Male Chorus The Rape of Lucretia). His ENO debut in 2018 was as Prologue/Quint Turn of the Screw (at Regent's Park) followed by Johnny Inkslinger at Wilton's Music Hall. His first Coliseum appearance with ENO was as Normanno Lucia di Lammermoor.

With Scottish Opera he made his debut as Nemorino. He later sang several roles including Titorelli in Glass's The Trial before the Opera Highlights 2017 tour. He also sang Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos.

Roles abroad include Paris Champs-Elysées (Almaviva) to be repeated at Bordeaux. He sings Tom in The Rake's Progress in Brussels, Aldeburgh and the Ojai Festival (California) conducted by Barbara Hannigan, and will also sing Spoletta in a concert performance of Tosca at Abu Dhabi with Bryn Terfel as Scarpia.

Concert appearances include Copenhagen (Mozart Requiem), Huddersfield Choral Society (Orbin in Elgar's Caractacus) and Dundee Choral Union (Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, Verdi Requiem).

(Update Dec 2021)