Biography
A phenomenal voice and talent in the tradition of the great Italian tenor voices, British-Italian tenor and “opera superstar” (The Times) Freddie De Tommaso has captured wide spread acclaim with headline grabbing debuts and chart-topping album releases. Hailed by The Telegraph as “the next Caruso”, he is one of the most sought-after singers today. A natural communicator, De Tommaso has presented two series on Italian opera for Classic FM and has released two number 1 albums, winning a BBC Music Magazine Newcomer award for his debut album in 2022 on Decca Classics.
De Tommaso’s 25/26 season begins with the season opener at the Royal Ballet & Opera, London, a highly anticipated new production of Tosca. He appears three times as Rodolfo La bohème: at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Ballet & Opera and at the Puccini Festival, as well as as adding a new Verdi role to his repertoire, Rodolfo Luisa Miller at Palau de les Arts Valencia and Wiener Staatsoper in new productions. De Tommaso also makes his house debut at Opéra national de Paris in their loved production of Tosca by Pierre Audi. Other operatic engagements include Cavaradossi Tosca at Deutsche Opera Berlin; Don José Carmen at Wiener Staatsoper; Pollione Norma at the Staatsoper unter den Linden; and the world premiere of Umberto Giordano’s forgotten masterpiece, Marina, to be performed in concert and recorded by Decca Classics. On the concert platform, De Tommaso appears in recital with pianist Audrey Saint-Gil at Hungarian State Opera; a concert with Lise Davidsen at the Broadstage Theatre in California; and a concert at Teatro di San Carlo.
Last season saw him open the season for Staatsoper unter den Linden and Bayerische Staatsoper with a series of performances of Tosca, which was a vehicle for his much anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut, broadcast live in HD in cinemas across the world. Another major highlight was the role of Pollione in Bellini’s Norma which he performed in new productions at Teatro alla Scala Milan, Theater an der Wien and at the Wiener Staatsoper. De Tommaso was also heard as Rodolfo La bohème in Hamburg; Tosca at Wiener Staatsoper and in Bonn; Don José Carmen at the Royal Ballet & Opera and Wiener Staatsoper. On the concert platform, his appearances included a concert with Angela Gheorghiu at the Broadstage Theatre; a gala concert for the Solti Academy at the Hungarian State Opera; and a concert with Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu at the Gstaad Festival.
Recent opera engagements include Riccardo Un ballo in Maschera (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Verbier Festival); Maurizio Adriana Lecouvreur (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro alla Scala); Pollione Norma (Teatro di San Carlo); Adorno Simon Boccanegra (Wiener Staatsoper); Rodolfo La bohème (Royal Ballet & Opera, Staatsoper unter den Linden, Wiener Staatsoper and Teatro alla Scala); Cavaradossi Tosca (Royal Ballet & Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Arena di Verona, Bolshoi Theatre); Pinkerton Madama Butterfly (Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Ballet & Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden); Don José Carmen (Arena di Verona, Wiener Staatsoper); Macduff Macbeth (Wiener Staatsoper), Alfredo La traviata (Staatsoper unter den Linden, Arena di Verona, Bayerische Staatsoper); and a staged production of Verdi’s Requiem (Dutch National Opera).
Previous concert appearances have included Verdi’s Requiem (Teatro Regio di Parma); a recital with soprano Lise Davidsen (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Salzburg Easter Festival); a concert and recording with Orchestra di Teatro alla Scala and Riccardo Chailly of Verdi’s Inno delle Nazioni; a concert with Teatro di San Carlo Naples; two concerts alongside Sonya Yoncheva (Mannheim Philharmonic and an open air concert Opera for All in Munich); the New Year’s Eve Concert at Teatro La Fenice; Tosca and Verdi’s Requiem at the Bergen International Festival and with the Orchestre National de Lyon; recitals at the Festival Castell Peralada; the opening concert of the Kissinger Sommer Festival and Verdi Requiem Verbier Festival.
An exclusive artist with Decca Classics and the first tenor to be signed to the label since 2007, his debut album Passione debuted at number 1 in the classical charts and won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Newcomer. In June 2022 his second album Il Tenore shot straight to number 1 in the charts upon its release, whilst his rendition of Nessun Dorma, featured on the album, reached over one million streams. De Tommaso released an EP titled Puccini in 2024, celebrating the centenary of the composer’s death.
De Tommaso first burst onto the operatic scene in 2018 when he won the First Grand Prize of the Tenor Viñas Competition. He subsequently joined the Opera Studio of Bayerische Staatsoper and shortly after opened the 2020–21 season of the Wiener Staatsoper as Pinkerton in a new production of Madama Butterfly. He shot to fame in December 2021 when he jumped in as Cavaradossi in the Royal Ballet & Opera’s production of Tosca, thus becoming at the age of 28 the youngest ever tenor to perform the role on the iconic stage and the first Brit since 1963, prompting the press to unanimously declare that a new star was born.