Thomas Forde

American bass-baritone Thomas Forde is keeping a busy schedule in the theatre, opera, and TV/film peformance arenas. Recent and upcoming engagements include the critical and box office hit, "Sweeney Todd" at Paramount Theatre (Chicago/Aurora); Zuniga in Carmen at Madison Opera; Lurch in "The Addams Family" with New Theatre Kansas City; Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago for "Les Misérables"; Lyric Opera of Chicago's Opera Unlimited in their production of "The Brothers Grimm"; and Madison Opera as Judge Turpin in Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd", Don Basilio in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Sivilgia", and Luther/Crespel in "The Tales of Hoffmann". He made his debut with Opera di Roma singing and reprising various roles he debuted at Opernhaus Zürich in "The Nose" in the 2012-13 season in addition to joining Syracuse Opera for the title role in "Le nozze di Figaro" and Madison Opera for Samuel in Un ballo in maschera. He also debuted with Utah Opera as the Fifth Jew in "Salome." He spent the previous two seasons at Opera Zürich as a member of its International Opera Studio, where his roles included Alidoro in conert performances of "La cenerentola"; Billy Jackrabbit in "La fanciulla del West"; Theseus in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"; Haiduk, Third Policeman, and Policeman in Summergarden in "The Nose"; Deputato in "Don Carlo"; Ambrogio in "Il barbiere di Siviglia"; the bass soloist in Schreier’s "Der stadt der Blinden"; Sarastro in family performances of "Die Zauberflöte"; and Dritte Strolch in Orff’s "Die Kluge". He also joined the Zürcher Kammer Orchester for Caronte in "Orlando Paladino."

 

He has been seen on the hit NBC show "Chicago Fire" as a co-star on Season 4 of the series and the MSNBC series “The Invested Life” where his life as a performer was chronicled over the course of seven episodes. He has also been a featured actor on National Geographic’s “Brain Games.” In addition to these appearances, Thomas has appeared in the 7-Eleven Doritos Loaded web campaign.

 

Recently he sang his first performances of the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Tacoma Opera and his other performances include the Fifth Jew in Salome and Angelotti in Tosca with Dallas Opera, and Colline in La bohème with Skylight Opera. He has sung Snug and covers of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a member of the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, Angelotti in Tosca and Il mandarino inTurandot with Fort Worth Opera, as well as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor; Barone Douphol in La traviata with Shreveport Opera; and Zuniga in Carmen with Ash Lawn Opera and Opera in the Heights. He is a former Resident Artist of Santa Fe Opera, where he sang the First Soldier and Second Servant in the world premiere of Lewis Spratlan’s Life is a Dream. Also with the company, he sang excerpts of General Boum La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and Publio in La clemenza di Tito. He also participated in the young artist programs of Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Utah Festival Opera.

 

Forde earned a Master of Music from the University of Houston where he sang Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Le Philosophe in Cherubin, Sulayman Pasha in Corigliano’s Ghosts of Versailles, Selim in Il turco in Italia, Frank Maurrant in Street Scene, and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. At the University of Illinois, he sang Seneca in L’incornazione di Poppea and Masetto in Don Giovanni in addition to Beethoven’sChoral Fantasy with Sinfonia da Camera while obtaining his Bachelor of Music.