Giles is excited to be starting the new season with his Opera Hamilton debut! He will be performing Don Basilio in Rossini’s comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville. Performances will take place October 22 – 29 at the new home of Opera Hamilton, The Dofasco Centre for the Arts. Further concert announcements can be found in the SCHEDULE section of the website, including a debut with Symphony Nova Scotia, a 30th Anniversary Gala Concert with the Aldeburgh Connection, and the title role in Verdi’s Oberto with Opera In Concert.
June 14, 2011
The reviews are in! Check out the REVIEWS section to read the latest ones, including Damnation of Faust with Vancouver Bach Choir, and The Devil & Kate with Opera In Concert. Stay tuned for concert announcements for the 2011-12 season! Have a great summer!
January 20, 2011
On Sunday, March 27th, Giles will perform with Toronto's Opera In Concert in a presentation of Dvorak's The Devil & Kate. One of Dvorak's last operas, this twisted comedy will be performed in English, and will take place at Toronto's Jane Mallett Theatre (St. Lawrence Centre). Please check the SCHEDULE section of the website for all of Giles' upcoming operatic and concert performances, including La Boheme (Pacific Opera Victoria), and La Traviata (Vancouver Opera).
September 23, 2010
On October 20th at the Koerner Hall in Toronto, Tambuco, four master Mexican percussionists, joins with four exceptional Canadian singers: Virginia Hatfield and Eve-Lyn de la Haye, sopranos; Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano; and bass-baritone Giles Tomkins. These artists perform electrifying works that fuse the ancient and the modern. The program features World Premieres of three Soundstreams commissions by Javier Alvarez (Mexico), Analia Llugdar (Canada) and Ana Sokolovic (Canada), plus Osvaldo Golijov’s Demos Gracias al Señor, George Crumb’s The American Songbook and Dios Nunca Muere (Traditional Mexican). Presented by Soundstreams.
April 26, 2010
This summer, Giles will be returning to the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy (COSI) to perform the role of Achilla in Handel's Giulio Cesare. He will also sing Colline in La Boheme at the Highlands Opera Studio in Haliburton, Ontario. Performances will take place at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion at the end of August. For more information, please visit www.highlandsoperastudio.com. In 2011, Giles will return to Pacific Opera Victoria and debut with Vancouver Opera. For more details, please check the SCHEDULE section of the website.
February 20, 2010
Pacific Opera Victoria's 2010-11 season has just been announced! Giles will be returning to the company next season to sing Colline in Puccini's La Boheme.
January 7, 2010
Happy New Year! Please take a moment to listen to the new arias and songs found in the AUDIO section of the website. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements for the upcoming season!
November 3, 2009
Canadian opera composer Dean Burry was asked by the CBC to envision an episodic telling of the story of Baby Kintyre, the mummified infant discovered by a construction crew in the attic of a Toronto home in 2007. The first episode will be broadcast on Saturday, November 7th on CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. The series will continue on this programme for the next four weeks, concluding Saturday, December 5th. Giles will première the role of Wesley.
August 10, 2009
Giles, along with the supremely talented pianist Gordon Gerrard, will be competing in the International Song Competition at the Wigmore Hall in London, England. This prestigious event will take place from the 6th – 10th of September 2009. They will offer art songs by Schubert, Schumann, Poulenc, Ibert, Duparc, Warlock, Ives, and Barber. More information about the competition can be found at http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/songcompetition. Giles is grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts for a travel grant to attend this competition.
April 4, 2009
Giles has been invited to participate in the 2009 Montreal International Musical Competition. He will enter the competition this coming May in the Quarter Final Round. More information about the competition can be found at www.concoursmontreal.ca
March 30, 2009
Giles was thrilled to sing the part of Christus in the Bach Consort performance of Bach’s St. John Passion yesterday afternoon, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. This special event was a benefit performance in aid of Eva’s Initiatives, a group that works to get homeless youth off the streets permanently.
February 28, 2009
Inês, the world premiere of the Fado-inspired opera by James Rolfe, has enjoyed a successful run at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, playing to nearly sold-out houses each night. Engagements and concerts for the 2009-10 season have now been added to the Concert Schedule section of this website, including performances with Pacific Opera Victoria and Saskatoon Opera.
July 30, 2008
Giles has just returned from a fabulous summer in Sulmona, Italy where he was fortunate enough to be a member of the COSI Opera Studio (www.co-si.com) He performed Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème to an enthusiastic audience, who cheered his splendid rendition of the “coat” aria Vecchia Zimarra.
June 7, 2007
Giles auditioned for Maestro James Levine in New York last December, and subsequently was cast to play the role of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte this summer at the Tanglewood Music Center, to be conducted by Maestro Levine. The performances take place on August 11, 12, & 14. For details, please visit www.tanglewood.org
January 25, 2007
And So It Goes, the debut solo CD from Giles Tomkins, has found a new home among old friends. Since the release features the music of the Canadian Brass, it only makes sense to feature it at the Canadian Brass Store! Visit the Canadian Brass Store for details. www.canbrass.com