Praise for Mr. Thuris
A young heldentenor with no sign of strain; just masculine, gleaming tone. (Henri Venanzi, principal coach at Opera Pacific and Cincinnati Opera)
Mr. Thuris' voice is very powerful and I like it very much. (Ib Melchior, author of Lauritz Melchior and the Golden Years of Bayreuth)
Beautiful singing. (David Raksin, composer of "Laura")
Biography
PDF Resume (Nov. 2013)
A native of Oklahoma, tenor Shawn Thuris has sung a number of operatic roles in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere, including Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Don José (Carmen), Siegmund (Die Walküre), Radames (Aïda), Cavadarossi (Tosca), Luigi (Il tabarro), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) and Alfredo (La traviata), and has been a soloist in oratorios of Bach, Handel, Lloyd Webber and Mozart. Art song repertoire is a particular focus for Mr. Thuris, and he has performed recitals with such distinguished pianists as Kirill Gliadkovsky, Robert Edward Thies, and Steven Vanhauwaert.
In the 2014 and 2015 seasons he sang the roles of Canio in Pagliacci, Max in Der Freischütz, and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Utopia Opera of Manhhattan.
In 2012-2013, he portrayed the Count in the North American premiere of Mercadante's I due Figaro with Amore Opera of Manhattan, presented Schubert's Winterreise with pianist Robert Edward Thies at the Metropolitan Opera Guild, essayed his first major Gilbert and Sullivan role as Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard with Utopia Opera, and reprised the role of Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos under the baton of Timothy Vernon at Vocal Arts Festival in Edmonton, Alberta. The 2010-11 season saw him as Bacchus with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, as Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with Amore Opera, and in highlights of Tristan und Isolde with One World Symphony.
Mr. Thuris trained as a baritone at the Claremont Colleges, then made the change to tenor at Santa Monica College, where he completed his studies with "A Tribute to Lauritz Melchior," an orchestral recital of scenes from Die Meistersinger, Otello, Siegfried, and Tristan und Isolde, and Danish songs.
Mr. Thuris lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, mezzo-soprano Monica Hershenson Thuris.