GILES TOMKINS

BASS-BARITONE (active)

NEWS

 

2017 CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT RECIPIENT

 

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

This season, Giles adds Hamilton Philharmonic to his many Messiah performances, most recently with Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.  He also looks forward to singing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in 2023 with Chorus Niagara, under the direction of one of his mentors, Robert Cooper.  On the operatic stage, Giles sings Sciarrone with Edmonton Opera’s Tosca and Fifth Jew in Salome with Canadian Opera Company. Please check the SCHEDULE section for more details!

 

OCTOBER 23, 2019

Giles begins this season as Colline in Against the Grain Theatre’s updated production of La bohème, on tour from the Yukon to Toronto.  The Puccini classic is a fully-staged remount of the acclaimed, groundbreaking English “transladaptation” first presented by Against the Grain Theatre in 2009.  This tour is in partnership with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and CBC Arts.  Tune in to CBC Gem or Youtube on October 13 at 7:30pm EST as La bohème becomes the first professional livestream of an opera in Canadian history!

LA BOHÈME: LIVE >

 

JANUARY 10, 2019

Happy New Year!  2019 promises to be an exciting year for Giles, beginning with a reprise of Dr. Grenvil for Pacific Opera Victoria, conducted by Timothy Vernon, and directed by Alain Gauthier.  Then in March, Giles begins rehearsals with Manitoba Opera for their production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, singing the role of the slandering and conniving music master, Don Basilio.  Stay tuned for more exciting announcements soon!

 

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Giles has been busy rehearsing for Edmonton Opera’s production of La Traviata! The Verdi masterpiece opens on October 20th at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, and tickets are selling quickly! Giles will also be involved in the very same production with Pacific Opera Victoria in February 2019. Be sure to check the SCHEDULE section for all the latest concert listings!

 

THIS JUST IN:  Giles will be joining the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and it’s new music director Otto Tausk for two performances of Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, November 9th & 10th at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.

 

APRIL 23, 2018

Giles is delighted to join the cast of Opera 5’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in June!  Check the SCHEDULE section for more details!  And be sure to check out a recent interview with Giles on the subject of singing for mental health!

READ FULL INTERVIEW >

 

OCTOBER 1, 2017

Upcoming concert engagements for Giles in 2017/18 include Handel’s Dettingem Te Deum with Karen Schuessler Singers in London Ontario, Bach’s Peasant Cantata with Toronto Masque Theatre and Messiah with London Symphonia. Giles then joins the cast of The Overcoat, a 2018 world premiere of James Rolfe’s new opera, co-produced by Tapestry Opera, Canadian Stage Company and Vancouver Opera, directed by Morris Panych.  Please check the SCHEDULE section for more details.

 

MAY 27, 2017

Giles is featured in an interview with Schmopera!

 

"Canadian bass-baritone Giles Tomkins has enviable roles like Timur (Turandot), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and even Gandalf (The Hobbit) on his résumé, and each time he takes the stage, his is a memorable performance. He just wrapped a run of Tosca at the Canadian Opera Company, and he's already looking forward to being a part of the world premiere of James Rolfe and Morris Panych's The Overcoat next season.

 

An articulate guy on top of being a stellar singer, Tomkins chats about the international route to a Canadian career, and all the beautiful ways his life as a new dad has transformed his work onstage."

READ FULL INTERVIEW >

 

OCTOBER 17, 2016

It's a new season and what better way to begin than with a new role debut!  Giles is thrilled to be performing once again with Edmonton Opera this year, singing Timur in their fall production of Puccini's Turandot.  After several seasonal performances of Handel's Messiah (including a debut with Regina Symphony, and a return to Ottawa's Thirteen Strings Orchestra), he returns to Edmonton Opera in March of 2017 to appear in Strauss' captivating Elektra. This will be followed by performances with Canadian Opera Company in April and May.  More details to follow on what is sure to be a busy and rewarding season!

 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Giles begins the 2015 season as Don Basilio at Opera Lyra Ottawa in their updated 1940’s Hollywood production of The Barber of Seville, a role that he will then repeat with Pacific Opera Victoria in 2016. Also this season, Giles debuts the role of Konchak in Borodin’s rarely-performed Prince Igor with Toronto’s Voicebox: Opera in Concert. In his recent debut in Edmonton Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Giles “deserved every bit of the especially loud reception from the audience for his Raimondo” (Bill Rankin, Opera Canada).

 

NEWS ARCHIVE >

Canada Council for the Arts