Thomas, Jess (Floyd)
Thomas, Jess (Floyd)
Thomas, Jess (Floyd), American tenor; b. Hot Springs, S.Dak., Aug. 4, 1927; d. San Francisco, Oct. 11, 1993. After studying psychology at the Univ. of Nebr. and at Stanford Univ., he turned to singing; had formal study with Otto Schulman. He made his formal operatic debut as Malcolm at the San Francisco Opera in 1957, then continued his training with Emmy Seiberlich in Germany. He was a member of the Karlsruhe Opera (1958-61); sang Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival (1961) and appeared in other German music centers. On Dec. 11, 1962, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y as Walther von Stolzing. In 1963 he joined the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and was honored with the title of Kammersänger; also made guest appearances in Salzburg, Vienna, London’s Covent Garden, and other major opera centers.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire