Thomas Hampson on stage with BİFO

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Thomas Hampson is taking the stage with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BİPO) on May 23. BİFO will be playing works from Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi and Jules Massenet operas.

Hampson will be singing world-famous operas for his Istanbul audience. As a baritone who is recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent classical singers, he has appeared in major opera houses and concert halls all over the world and released over 170 musical recordings.

Hampson has played more than 80 roles, including the title roles in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Gioacchino Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell,” Ambroise Thomas’ “Hamlet” and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” as well as Figaro in Rossini’s “Barber of Seville.” The center of his Verdi repertoire remains Posa in “Don Carlo,” Germont in “La Traviata,” the title roles in “Macbeth” and “Simon Boccanegra,” and more recently also Amfortas in Wagner’s “Parsifal” and Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca.”

As an opera singer Hampson’s diverse discography has earned him many awards such as the Edison Award for Lifetime Achievement, four Edison Awards, four Echo prizes, numerous VEB Deutsche Schallplatten, Gramophone Awards and Grand Prix du Disque, as well as six Grammy Award nominations and one Grammy Award.

Hampson has dedicated himself and his music to maintaining cultural connections between different countries. The concert starts at 8 p.m. at Lütfi Kırdar UKSS.