British tenor Tom Kelly is acclaimed for his versatility and musical sensitivity, earning recognition as both a soloist and ensemble singer across a wide range of repertoire. He is particularly noted for performances that combine vocal elegance with a deep sense of character and emotional truth.

This year, Tom looks forward to making the roles of Pharisee 1 and Disciple 2 in a groundbreaking new work by Tansy Davies, The Passion of Mary Magdalene at The Barbican and Edinburgh International Festival. Tom will make his Buxton International Opera Festival Debut in a Vache Baroque production of Francesca Caccini’s La Liberazione di Ruggiero, playing an amusing assortment of roles including Vistola Fiume, Una della piante incantante, Astolfo, and Pastore! Tom will be making his ENO debut this year in a co-production with Kantos of Du Yun’s music and Royce Vavrek’s libretto in the opera Angel’s Bone.

Tom’s commitment to contemporary music has led to a recent highlight as Mormon 2 and Housemate 3 (cover) in Oliver Leith’s Last Days at The Royal Opera House, Linbury Theatre, a role he recorded with The Twelve Ensemble and Jack Sheen for Platoon Records. Last summer, Tom joined the Monteverdi Choir to open the Edinburgh International Festival as a soloist in John Tavener’s monumental The Veil of the Temple, an eight-hour performance that drew wide critical acclaim (The Times ★★★★★). He has created new operatic roles including Emile L’Angelier in David Hackbridge Johnson’s Madeleine (Surrey Opera) and Barnaby Rudge in Martin Bussey’s What the Dickens (St Marylebone International Festival). Other highlights include his durational performance of Schubert’s An die Musik for Ragnar Kjartansson’s eponymous installation at the London Contemporary Music Festival, which lasted 7 hours.

Equally at home in the baroque repertoire, Tom has appeared as a soloist with many leading period ensembles, including Solomon’s Knot, Dunedin Consort, Le Concert D’Astrée, Gabrieli Consort, Manchester Camerata, Oxford Bach Soloists in tours of works such as Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion, in venues such at Wigmore Hall and Bach’s churches in Leipzig and Weimar. He has appeared with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée in French baroque programmes in Lille, and regularly collaborates with Oxford Bach Soloists, most recently under Stephen Grahl (Weihnachts-Oratorium) and Eamonn Dougan (St John Passion). Other recent engagements include performances with Newcastle Bach Choir, Platinum Consort, and Huddersfield Choral Society.

On the opera stage, Tom’s recent performances include Handel’s Semele with Le Concert d’Astrée and Emmanuelle Haïm, as well as appearances with Grange Park Opera in Rachmaninov’s Aleko and Donizetti’s La fille du régiment alongside Ailish Tynan and Bryn Terfel, and The Grange Festival in Glück’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, conducted by Harry Christophers. A lover of Mozart, Tom has performed the roles Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni, Minack Theatre) and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte, Flat Pack Music), with earlier stage highlights including Berlioz’s Les Troyens and Benvenuto Cellini under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Purcell’s The Indian Queen with Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée.

Alongside his solo work, Tom is a sought-after ensemble singer. For five years he was a member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Stile Antico, with whom he toured extensively across Europe, North America, and South America. Tom has been a member of Fieri Consort since 2013, recording 7 albums of Italian madrigals and some contemporary works by composer by Ben Rowarth, winning the Cambridge Early Music prize in 2017. He also performs with many of the UK and Europe’s leading vocal groups, including Monteverdi Choir, Dunedin Consort, BBC Singers, The Sixteen, Collegium Vocale Gent, The Tallis Scholars, and Gabrieli Consort, in projects with orchestras such as the Irish Baroque Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. A recent highlight was performing a programme of polyphonic greats including Tallis Spem in Alium with Lionel Meunier, Vox Luminis and Tokyo-based dance troupe Karas.

Tom began his musical training as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral under John Scott. During this time he recorded treble solos including Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for Naxos.