As a singer and musician, in opera as well as in lied and symphonic works, Thomas Hampson is among the most distinguished artists of our time. Raised in Spokane, Washington, he studied with Sr. Marietta Coyle, Martial Singher, Horst Günther and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and first came to Europe in 1980. As a member of the ensembles of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and later the Zurich Opera he developed his vast repertoire that includes works by Mozart, Gluck, Verdi and Wagner as well as operas by Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten and Hans Werner Henze, which he performs at the world’s major opera houses. In addition to these duties, he is particularly active as a lieder singer and as a teacher and scholar.

To create a connection between the various aspects of his activities, Thomas Hampson in 2003 established the HAMPSONG Foundation. While its mission is first and foremost the research and proliferation of song and singing – through concerts, master classes, or symposia – an equally important aspect of the Foundation’s aim is devoted to sharing the results of this research and every kind of related material and information with the public, to make it available to as many people as possible and to offer them the chance to enter into an artistic and scientific dialogue.

This website is the heart of HAMPSONG und meant to be the center of its network. On the following pages you will find essays and program notes, song texts, concert programs, biographies of composers and poets and a multimedia gallery currently under construction and expansion. By way of links to Thomas Hampson’s personal website, www.thomashampson.com, you will be able to access a large amount of biographical information as well as his performance calendar and discography.