Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings.

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 Puccini's Tosca.

As a recitalist Hampson has won worldwide recognition for his thoughtfully researched and creatively constructed programs that explore the rich repertoire of song in a wide range of styles, languages, and periods.

[6] He then continued his studies at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he worked with vocal coach Jack Metz and the baritone Horst Günter, a lifelong mentor.

[8] An audition tour in Europe in the early 1980s brought him a contract with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, as well as the opportunity to study with Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, whom he had met at the Merola program.

He sang the title role in Henze's Der Prinz von Homburg in Darmstadt, and Guglielmo, in a Jonathan Miller production of Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, which brought him significant attention in the United States.

[10] In 1984, he began an engagement at the Opernhaus Zürich as a principal lyric baritone, among others participating in the legendary Harnoncourt-Ponnelle Mozart cycle, including all of the Da Ponte operas and the title role of the famed 1987 production of Don Giovanni.

In 1991, Hampson opened the New York Philharmonic season in a Live from Lincoln Center telecast, singing Aaron Copland's Old American Songs in a performance conducted by Kurt Masur.

[15] In 1992, he was named the Musical America's Singer of the Year, alongside John Corigliano, Robert Shaw, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Yo-Yo Ma.

[15] The year included many notable performances, including: the Rossini 200th birthday gala at Avery Fisher Hall, the title role in Britten's Billy Budd at the Met, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at Florence's Maggio Musicale conducted by Zubin Mehta, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Daniel Barenboim at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and two performances of Schumann's Dichterliebe: one in Geneva and the other in his first recital at Carnegie Hall.

That year, he continued to add to his repertoire with performances including Il barbiere di Siviglia at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Met, his debut in the role of Posa in Verdi's Don Carlo in Zürich, the title role in Henze's Der Prinz von Homburg, and Chorebe in Les Troyens by Berlioz at the Metropolitan Opera.

[17] 1993 also saw the beginning of Hampson's institutional involvement in the classical world, when he gave a series of master classes at the Tanglewood Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts.

[18] He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of music in his hometown of Spokane, Washington from Whitworth College that same year,[19] and took a large role in the publication of a new critical edition of Mahler songs, alongside which he released a recording in collaboration with Geoffrey Parsons.

In September, he sang the leading role in the world premiere of the Conrad Susa and Philip Littell's opera, The Dangerous Liaisons[22] and then in October recorded the 20 Lieder und Gesänge based on his and Dr. Renate Hilmar-Voit's research.

That year, he went on to perform in a number of significant productions, including Das Lied von der Erde at Carnegie Hall under the baton of James Levine, a Live from Lincoln Center telecast with Kathleen Battle,[23] a performance of Britten's War Requiem in Rome conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, a recital of all of Gustav Mahler's songs (Hampson's new critical edition) for the Mahler Festival at Concertgebouw, and another engagement with Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music.

[26] Other important appearances of Hampson's in 1996 include a series of master classes at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, and two productions of Don Carlos in the original French (directed by Luc Bondy), one in Paris and one in London.

[30] In February he teamed up with Jerry Hadley, Cheryl Studer, and Craig Rutenberg to perform I Hear America Singing at the Barbican Centre in London.

Early 1999 saw Hampson back at the Metropolitan Opera, this time in the title role in the baritone version of Massenet's Werther, alongside Susan Graham.

That year, he served as a member of the Artistic Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and sang at the Centennial Celebration for Elinor Remick Warren at the Washington National Cathedral.

[44] In 2006, in a collaboration between the Heidelberger Frühling Festival and the Hampsong Foundation, the 200th anniversary of the printing of Des Knaben Wunderhorn was celebrated in concerts, symposium, and master classes.

[54] In February, he performed in the world premiere of Michael Daugherty's Letters From Lincoln with the Spokane Symphony and then as the title role in Eugene Onegin at the Met.

[58] In 2011, Hampson sang the role of Rick Rescorla in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' Heart of a Soldier with the San Francisco Opera, based on a true story from 9/11.

He received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from New England Conservatory in 2015, the same year that he premiered a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon at Carnegie Hall.

In 2016, Hampson added another role to his operatic repertoire with the world premiere of Miroslav Srnka's South Pole at the Bavarian State Opera.

[3] He starred as Roald Amundsen, opposite tenor Rolando Villazón as Robert Falcon Scott, in the real-life story of the Antarctic explorers' race to reach the South Pole.