Gwion Thomas

The baritone, Gwion Thomas was born in Gorseinon, South Wales and gave up a career in banking to study singing at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where he graduated with Distinction, winning many prizes.

His operatic roles include Figaro in Barber of Seville and First Mate in John Metcalf's Tornrak for Welsh National Opera. He also sang Maitra and Presiding Judge in Param Vir's double bill, Snatched from the Gods and Broken Strings and more recently the role of William Godwin in the Sally Beamish's Monster for Scottish Opera. He has performed several roles for Kent Opera, such as Chao Lin in Judith Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes and the title role in Monteverdi's Orfeo.

At Aldeburgh Festival he has sung Mr Punch in Birtwistle's Punch and Judy and created the title role of The Wildman in Nicola LeFanu's new opera.

For Music Theatre Wales his numerous roles included Mr Punch in their acclaimed production of Punch and Judy, Blazes in Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse, Pasternak in The Electrification of the Soviet Union and Hermes in Param Vir's Ion, which was a joint production with the National Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg and the Berlin Festival. He has also recently performed the Pasternak in The Electrification of the Soviet Union for Opera Vest in Norway and Blazes in Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse for Transparent Muziektheater in Antwerp. With the latter he also took the role of the composer Janacek in their production Intimate Letters.

On the concert platform he has performed the role of Chao Lin in A Night at the Chinese Opera for Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Boatswain in HMS Pinafore at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Roger Norrington and the Journalist in Lulu with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis.

Past prestigious recitals include Schubert Institute, Kent Opera Janus Series, Manchester Midday Concerts, and Machynlleth Festival, where he has performed the Schubert Song-Cycles. He is also a frequent guest soloist with Male Voice Choirs

Most recent engagements include Zuniga in Carmen for Stowe Opera, numerous roles in Nigel Osborne's new opera The Piano Tuner and Faber in Tippett's The Knot Garden, both for Music Theatre Wales in joint productions with the Royal Opera House.

He has also just premiered Andrew Lovett's operas Abraham on Trial, and Don't Breathe a Word, both with Frances Lynch's Electric Voice Theatre at Cambridge and Colchester. Also, recently sang in Dave Heath's new opera Everyday Occurrence with the McFall Ensemble in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

He has just premiered a solo scene from Edwin Roxborough's new opera 'Abelard' as part of a concert with the Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra.

Most recent work include The Childhood of Christ by Berlioz at Oxford Town Hall, Mozart Requiem at the Sheldonian in Oxford, and Elijah with Eynsham Choral Society. He has also sung Mr.Punch again in a highly successful revival of Punch and Judy with Music Theatre Wales at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House. With MTW also he also took the role of Man in Huw Watkins' new opera Crime Fiction and the Soldier in Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale (in a new Welsh translation) in a double bill entitled Temptation/Temtasiwn at the Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff.

2011 saw Gwion sing the roles of Dad, Cafe Manager and Chief of Police in Music Theatre Wales's highly acclaimed and award winning production of GREEK by Mark Anthony Turnage. He also had the privilege of singing Winterreise, Schubert's song-cycle masterpiece in Loughborough.

Future work includes another Winterreise in Birmingham, Handel's Messiah in Cardiff, Dvorak's Stabat Mater in Leicester and Haydn's Creation in Oxford. He is also helping to workshop a new Welsh language opera, Y Twr by Guto Puw with Music Theatre Wales.