Photo: Alan Kerr
Thomas Blunt
Thomas Blunt studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music in London, and was the first ever British participant of the prestigious Allianz International Conductors’ Academy, where he worked with the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras.
He has enjoyed a close relationship with Glyndebourne, where he began his career as Chorus Master and has since conducted L’elisir d’amore, Falstaff and La cenerentola on the Tour. During this time at Glyndebourne, Thomas worked closely with Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, resulting in his appointment as Jurowski’s Assistant Conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he has since conducted performances at venues including the Royal Festival Hall (including three UK premieres), Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Sala São Paulo, where the LPO were joined by the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo for Bruckner’s Mass in E minor. For OSESP, he has since conducted Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bach’s Cantata Wachet auf, and Brahms’s Requiem.
He has conducted Jephtha for Welsh National Opera, Don Pasquale for Longborough Festival Opera, La cenerentola for Opéra national du Rhin, and the world premiere of Dave Maric’s Ghosts for the Royal Opera House at the Linbury Theatre. In 2014, he made his Swiss debut with Ariadne auf Naxos at Konzert Theater Bern and was subsequently appointed First Kapellmeister for the following season. During his tenure he conducted a highly successful new production of Die Zauberflöte as well as performances of La Cenerentola. He has since returned to Bern as a guest to conduct Lohengrin.
Other operatic appearances include I pagliacci for Opéra de Baugé, Cimarosa’s Italian Girl in London at the Buxton Festival and Gluck’s Il Parnaso confuso and Bertoni’s Orfeo at St John’s Smith Square (all with Bampton Classical Opera), and acclaimed productions of The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn of the Screw, which he co-produced for the Arcola Theatre, London.
Concert highlights include, in addition to the LPO and OSESP, also the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur and the St Endellion Festival.
Aside from his work with Vladimir Jurwoski at Glyndebourne and the LPO, Thomas has also assisted conductors such as Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and worked for Opera North, Opéra de Lyon, La Monnaie, and the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano.
Recent and future highlights highlights include Rigoletto and Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Glyndebourne Tour, The Magic Flute for Welsh National Opera, La traviata and Don Giovanni for Longborough Festival Opera, Madam Butterfly for Iford Arts, Idomeneo for Royal Danish Opera, concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Haydn’s Il mondo della luna for Bampton Classical Opera, Gounod’s Faust for Opéra de Baugé, Das Lied von der Erde for the the Fifth Door Ensemble at Opera Holland Park, and debuts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.