SANTA FE, N.M. ā āBritish Tenor Saves Night at Opera,ā proclaimed the Daily Mail.
The opera was Pucciniās āTosca,ā and the tenor was then-28-year-old Freddie De Tommaso, jumping in at Londonās Royal Opera House when the scheduled singer withdrew after Act 1 because of illness.
Recommended Videos
That was nearly two years ago. Now De Tommaso has just made his U.S. debut at the Santa Fe Opera in the same role, appearing to enthusiastic applause on Aug. 12, five days after a bout of laryngitis forced him to cancel his first performance. His final performance is Saturday.
And heāll return in the 2024-25 season for another debut, this time at the Metropolitan Opera, where heāll again be Toscaās lover, Mario Cavaradossi.
In an interview at the opera house here, De Tommaso reflected on his career so far and the āstar is bornā moment in London that first brought him headlines.
āSo many people thought I was like an understudy or somebody they found walking down the street whistling āTosca,ā and that wasnāt the case,ā he recalled. In fact, he had been part of the second cast and was already scheduled to perform the role three nights later.
āBut it was incredibly exciting,ā he said, his animated tone reflecting his exuberant personality. āFrom the moment I put my costume on until I took my bow two hours later, it felt like about 90 seconds.ā
De Tommasoās exposure to opera began while he was growing up in Tunbridge Wells, where he sang in his school choir. His mother took him to performances and his Italian-born father, who ran a restaurant, serenaded diners with Luciano Pavarotti recordings.
Once he decided to study singing seriously, he applied to the Royal Academy of Music. Mark Wildman, who became his teacher, remembers hearing him audition.
āMy first impression of his voice was that it was a robust but rough-hewn diamond of a baritone voice with a surprisingly easy top for one so young,ā Wildman said. āHe looked like a singer: big broad shoulders, barrel-chested, together with a very strong physique and a voice that matched.ā
That easy top got easier and higher as De Tommasoās studies progressed, and Wildman eventually suggested his pupil might actually be a tenor.
āI well remember his face lighting up as if heād just received his most desired present on Christmas Day! And there was no holding him back,ā Wildman said.
De Tommaso immersed himself in recordings of great tenors and borrowed what he could: Franco Corelli (āso virileā); Mario del Monaco (āThe dramatic aspectā); Carlo Bergonzi (āI donāt think youāll hear any more elegant singingā); Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (āHis high C was literally huge.ā)
āSo I kind of made a trifle of singers,ā De Tommaso said, a joking reference to the traditional English dessert in which a chef embellishes sponge cake with whatever ingredients he likes, from fruit to jelly to custard to cream.
De Tommasoās breakthrough came at age 23 when ā on a lark, to hear him tell it ā he entered the 2018 Tenor ViƱas International Singing Competition in Barcelona. He ended up winning three awardsā the first prize, the Verdi Prize and the Domingo Prize.
The response was immediate. āIt was mental, actually,ā De Tommaso said. āI remember afterwards being in the hotel in Spain and getting all these emails and Facebook messages from agents. Who are these people, I thought naively.ā
Among those listening in Barcelona was Peter Katona, casting director for the Royal Opera.
āI was quite startled when I heard him,ā Katona said. āIt was immediately clear that he was above everybody else in terms of vocal quality. Often with young singers, thereās something that is not quite there. With him, you could just lean back and enjoy his singing.ā
Now at 30, heās in demand at all the major European houses.
āItās almost a little frightening that everything has been going so well for him,ā Katona said. āWith such a special talent one is always wary that he can pick the wrong role, overstretch. So far he hasnāt put a foot wrong.ā
For the coming season he has two new roles: Pollione in Belliniās āNormaā at Naples' Teatro di San Carlo and Gabriele Adorno in Verdiās āSimon Boccanegraā in Vienna.
And after his Met debut, heāll be a frequent return visitor to the New York house. Peter Gelb, the companyās general manager, called him āpart of a new wave of powerhouse tenors ... that we hope will become Met mainstays of the future.ā
At times De Tommaso finds it painful to turn down offers of new roles because they arenāt suited to his voice in its current stage. āI feel like a horse thatās ready to run, and when youāre called back, it can be a bit frustrating,ā he said.
āOne of the most important words Iāve had to learn to say is āāNo,āā De Tommaso said, as he did when a German theater asked him to sing Radames in Verdiās āAida.ā He told them simply: āItās too early.ā
Too early as well is the pinnacle of the Verdi tenor repertory, the title role in āOtello.ā Itās his dream to tackle it in āmaybe five to 10 years.ā
But sparingly. āThese little bits of flesh, they can only take so much punishment for so long,ā he said pointing to his vocal cords. āAnd if youāre singing the most dramatic parts like Otello, you canāt keep it up forever. I would quite like to sing until Iām 55 or 60.ā
With all the pressures of a blooming international career, De Tommaso still marvels at the opportunities coming his way.
āWhat a job I have!ā he said. āJust going around the world to places like Santa Fe, one of the most beautiful places Iāve ever been.ā He rattled off the list of other spots where heās performed this summer: Verona, Italy; Verbier, Switzerland; Peralada, Spain.
In Santa Fe, De Tommaso has been spending much of his time between rehearsals and performances playing golf.
āIām not very good, but the reason I like it is my life is so hectic, and when you play golf you canāt think about anything else but hitting that ball,ā he said. āEverything else takes a back seat just for the three hours.ā
With such a crowded schedule, De Tommaso said his manager has to remind him that he needs to take the occasional vacation. āAfter five or six days I get itchy feet,ā he said.
Still he has managed to carve out time for his wedding next month to soprano Alexandra Oomens, who was a fellow student at the Royal Academy.
Theyāre flying to Mauritius for their honeymoon, but even that has been tweaked to accommodate his career.
āWe were originally going to go for two weeks,ā he said. āBut then I got a job, so weāre only going for 10 days.ā
___
This story was first published on August 21, 2023. It was updated on August 22, 2023 to correct that Freddie De Tommasoās āNormaā debut will be at Teatro di San Carlo, not La Scala. His last name is also spelled De Tommaso, not de Tommaso.