Thomas, Jess (Floyd) (1927–1993)

US tenor. He studied at Stanford University and appeared in Europe from 1958, making his debut at Karlsruhe, as Lohengrin. He sang Bacchus at Munich in 1960 and returned in 1963 to sing the Emperor. He appeared at Bayreuth 1961–69, as Parsifal and Siegfried. In 1962 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, as Walther and created Caesar in the 1966 production of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which opened the Metropolitan Opera House's house at the Lincoln Center. He appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London 1969–71, as Walther and Tristan and sang Siegfried in the centenary Der Ring des Nibelungen/The Ring of the Nibelung at Bayreuth in 1976. Other roles included Radames, Lensky, and Tannhäuser.