Sir Thomas Allen is an established star of the great opera houses of the world.  At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where in 2006 he celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of his debut with the company, he has sung over forty roles. In 2006, he also celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. 

He has been particularly acclaimed for his Billy Budd, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, Ulisse and Beckmesser, as well as the great Mozart roles of Count Almaviva, Don Alfonso, Papageno, Guglielmo and, of course, Don Giovanni.  His recent engagements have included Eisenstein, Die Fledermaus, Don Alfonso, Ulisse and Don Giovanni at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Yeletsky, Pique Dame Sharpless, Madama Butterfly the title role in ‘Sweeney Todd’ and Music  Master, Ariadne auf Naxos at the Royal Opera House, Eisenstein at the Glyndebourne Festival, Don Alfonso at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals, Forester, The Cunning Little Vixen at the San Francisco Opera and Beckmesser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Don Alfonso and Music Master, Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. 

His engagements this season include his role debut as Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera; Father, Hänsel und Gretel at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Don Alfonso on tour with the Salzburg Festival. His future plans include Don Alfonso for Dallas Opera and at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Beckmesser for Cincinnatti Opera and returns to both the Metropolitan Opera and to the Royal Opera House.

Equally renowned on the concert platform, he appears in recital in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, in Australia and America, and has appeared with the world’s great orchestras and conductors. The greatest part of his repertoire has been extensively recorded with such distinguished names as Solti, Levine, Marriner, Haitink, Rattle, Sawallisch and Muti.

He made a triumphant directing debut in 2003 with ‘Albert Herring’ at the Royal College of Music and he has recently directed tremendously successful productions of Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte for Samling Opera at The Sage Gateshead.  He made an equally acclaimed U.S. directing debut with Le Nozze di Figaro for Arizona Opera in 2006 and, in 2007, he directed Il barbiere di Siviglia for Scottish Opera.