Thomas Herford - Tenor
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Bach300: Magnificat 1723 - Solomon's Knot, Wigmore Hall London, December 2023
"Baroque virtuosity seldom comes in as brilliant a form as here, … and three voices stood out: Alex Ashworth's thundering bass, and Thomas Herford and Andrew Tortise, two vividly contrasting tenors.” (The Independent Michael Church)
St Matthew Passion - Solomon's Knot, European Tour 2023
Review of the performance at Stadtkirche St Peter und Paul, Weimar (Thüringer Bachwochen 2023):
"Out of the community of nine, an evangelist, Thomas Herford, who oscillates in delicate colour palettes, and an immensely mild, sympathetic bass, Jonathan Sells as Jesus, stand out. His path of suffering takes on a dramatic dimension that is incomprehensible to us, the Turba choruses grow into a hurricane with thunder and lightning, and how believably he laments and struggles - child of God! - this Son of God." (Thuringer Allgemeiner Wolfgang Hirsch)
Review of the performance at the Nikolaikirche, Leipzig (Bachfest Leipzig 2023)
"All protagonists move towards and away from each other in a highly credible and not at all affected manner, led by the fabulous Thomas Herford, who paces the scene as the central figure. Painful, lyrical, internalized he sings the Evangelist." (LVZ Kultur Werner Kopfmüller)
Bach Brothers - Solomon's Knot, Wigmore Hall London, March 2022
"Amazingly educational and unbearably moving Solomon’s Knot evening at Wigmore Hall... Closing the long first half, Johann Christoph’s Herr, wende dich und sei mir gnädig , ... allowing Thomas Herford to shine" (Seen and Heard International Colin Clarke)
Telemann Donnerode - Solomon's Knot, Magdeburg, March 2022
"tenor Tom Herford had previously had the natural dance with a clear, more theatrical touch in the jagged-flowing one, due to the small, narrow vocal figures rapid rising of the sea.....
"the heavenly serenity of Herford under the angel's trumpet." (Bachtrack Jens Klier)
Johannes Passion (1725 Version) - Solomon's Knot, Wigmore Hall London, April 2019
"Evangelist duties (went to) Thomas Herford, eloquently anguished" (The Times ****)
"Herford was a mellifluous Evangelist yet he also prized the text; this was a deeply felt and considered performance." (Planet Hugill *****)
"Thomas Herford gave a deeply felt account of 'Ach, windet euch night so, geplagte Seelen' in a performance which plunged on headlong"(Planet Hugill *****)
"A further rage aria in Part Two allowed Herford and two writhing oboes to portray Christ’s torture – word painting superbly realised" (Classical Source)
Christmas in Leipzig: Bach, Kuhnau, Schelle - Solomon's Knot, Milton Court Barbican Centre, December 2018
"Thomas Herford contributed a thoughtful 'Et misericordia' (Kuhnau Magnificat) ..... and was fierce in 'Deposuit' (Bach Magnificat), taken at quite a tempo" (Planet Hugill *****)
"Thomas Herford was the excellent tenor soloist in ‘Heil’ge dich mit Reu und Lied’." (Seen and Heard International)
La Scuola Di Gelosi - Bampton Classical Opera, Summer 2017
"Thomas Herford, refined and elegant as the Lieutenant, enjoys the chaos his meddling had produced." (The Stage)
"Thomas Herford was all charm as the ubiquitous Lieutenant, whose manipulation of the two couples seemed to arise out of sheer delight at interfering." (Planet Hugill)
"Thomas Herford pronounced the Lieutenant’s motto of feminine fidelity (anticipating Così’s Don Alfonso?) - ‘Chi vuol nella femmina/ Trovar fedelta,/ La lasci padrona/ Di sua liberta. (He who wishes to find fidelity in a woman should allow her to remain mistress of her liberty) - with elegance" (Opera Today)
"Thomas Herford takes the part of the Don Alfonso-like Lieutenant with an adroit light-touch as he engineered the various situations by whichthe pairs of lovers might confront their feelings of jealousy as they entertain the prospect of each partner’s seeking the affection of another, though perhaps to a less cynical end than his counterpart in Così." (Classical Source)
B Minor Mass - Solomon's Knot Baroque Collective, Shoreditch Town Hall, December 2016
"The double choir Osanna sparkled either side of the tenor Thomas Herford and the flautist Eva Caballero’s limpid Benedictus... By the end of the Dona nobis pacem, as the trinity of trumpets soared upwards, it felt as though the hall itself was swelling." (The Times)
Christmas in Leipzig - Solomon's Knot Baroque Collective, St John's Smith Square, December 2015
"Deposuit was sung by Thomas Herford starting from a good firm opening and the rest sprang from there. He is a very communicative singer, with a nice evenness to the top of his voice." (Planet Hugill)
"Thomas Herford also gave a moving performance to the central tenor solo Et misericordia eius." (CultureVulture)
"The (Kuhnau) bounced along joyfully, also finding room for ... an almost operatic tenor solo (Thomas Herford) in the central “Et misericordia eius." (The Telegraph)
L'Ospedale - Solomon's Knot Baroque Collective, Wilton's Music Hall, November 2015
"Quickly dashing initial hopes that he might be our sane guide in this asylum, Thomas Herford casts reason aside and delivers a grippingly deranged performance as Cortigiano ... (singing with) lyricism and long phrasing" (The Artsdesk)
"Overlooked for career advancement, Cortigiano may be suffering from work-related stress, but tenor Thomas Herford did not let the City boy's anxieties infect his own lyrical elegance." (Opera Today)
Israel in Egypt - La Nuova Musica, Spitalfield's Festival, June 2015
"Thomas Herford returned for the aria The enemy said, which was taken at quite a lick, sung with vivid words, fine passage-work and good strong tone" (Planet Hugill)
Orfeo (Bertoni) - role: Imeneo - Bampton Classical Opera, 2014
"Thomas Herford was a sincere and earnest Imeneo, a wonderfully composed foil to the anguished Orfeo." (Bachtrack)
"tenor Thomas Herford.. beautifully captured the tenderness and solemnity of Bertoni's score." (Opera Today)
Messiah by heart, Solomon Ensemble, St John's Smith Square, December 2012
"tenor Thomas Herford and counter-tenor Michal Czerniawski were particularly impressive" (Lark Reviews)
Britten Canticles. St Bride's Fleet Street, 2012
"Herford sang with a lovely sense of line, nice even tone and a relaxed top…. In the more recitative sections Herford, who has a burgeoning operatic career, made the most of the work's quasi-operatic potential... Herford successfully moved between the lyrical outpourings of the Finzi-esque songs and the tougher world of the Canticle, giving a perfectly judged and eloquent performance. Here he really made something of the words and there was a telling contrast between the intensity of his delivery and the denser textures of the horn, finely realised by Anthony Mann." (Planet Hugill)
The Cunning Little Vixen, Ryedale Festival Opera 2011
"the much experienced Thomas Herford as the Schoolmaster headed the group of fast-changing characters." (David Denton, Yorkshire Post)
La Cenerentola, Clonter Opera 2010
"Thomas Herford - the prince - is a young tenor of great promise, a real rarity in this country and a man to watch ... the high notes are there and the tone quality in the rest of his range is golden. And he has heroic good looks." (Robert Beale, Manchester Evening News)
Albert Herring, GSMD 2010
"The standard of singing is remarkably high, too. Most of the cast do appear to be the finished article. Thomas Herford is a superbly doleful, clear-voiced Albert." (Mark Valencia, What's on Stage)
"The floppy-haired, gauche Albert of Thomas Herford was quite perfect, light of tone..., with crystal clear diction. His depiction of the self-conscious grocer's lad, tied to his mum's apron strings yet yearning to break free, was sensitively done, his embarrassment at his floral May crown and white clothing clearly evident in his uncomfortable shuffling and awkward demeanour. There is any number of tenors around who can sing English tenor roles and songs - Ian Bostridge, John Mark Ainsley, James Gilchrist, Andrew Kennedy - there must be room for Herford to join them in time, for this would be a natural repertoire for his light, pleasant voice, along with bel canto roles." (Mark Pullinger, Opera Britannia)
"Thomas Herford made Albert the humorously diffident foil to Sid and Nancy he should be, without letting the couple upstage him, and Herford's light tenor is very attractive." (Peter Reed, Opera)
"GSMD's Albert (is) as good as any of them" (Peter Grahame Woolf, Musical Pointer)
La Traviata, Chelsea Opera Group, RFH 2010
"The rest of the cast, although with little to do, were very well sung - especially the bright Flora of Anne-Marie Gibbons and the Gastone of the promising Thomas Herford" (Mark Pullinger, Opera Britannia)
'COG had assembled a strong team, with Thomas Herford (Gastone), Matthew Stiff (D'Obigny) and Riccardo Simonetti (Douphol) the pick of the men.'Richard Nicholson, Classical Source
Il Signor Bruschino, BYO 2009
"Thomas Herford as Florville (showed) that he has a gift for comedy. His voice is ... beautifully lyric and he used it with charm in the role." (ROBERT HUGILL, Music and Vision)
"Not only was the vocal casting in Il signor Bruschino downright luxurious for a farcical opera buffa - it was in some cases superior to that of any previous BYO performance I can remember. Thomas Herford was an engaging Florville with a flexible, easily produced high tenor." (Ruth Elleson, Opera Britannia)
"I particularly enjoyed the well-matched and charming pairing of Elena Sancho (soprano, Sofia) and Thomas Herford (tenor, Florville)." (Notes of an Idealist)
"Thomas Herford sang Florville's challenging arias with beauty and dexterity, and there was certainly something likeable about him." (Primi Divi)
La Rondine, BYO 2008
"Thomas Herford sang the important role of Prunier, Magda's tame poet. (It helps to place the opera if you think of Magda and Prunier as La bohème's Musetta and Rodolfo in later life.) Herford has an attractive lyric tenor voice and he acquitted himself admirably... (with) beauty and suppleness of line." (ROBERT HUGILL, Music and Vision)
"The standout performer was Thomas Herford" (The Economist)