Thomas L. Thomas

Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas (23 February 1911 - 17 April 1983) was a Welsh American baritone concert singer who achieved fame for his performances both in concert halls and on television and radio, most notably on The Voice of Firestone, where he was the most frequently featured singer. His concert repertoire included lieder, opera arias, ballads, spirituals and songs from musical theatre and operetta.

Thomas was born in Maesteg, Wales in 1911 and emigrated with his family to Scranton, Pennsylvania when he was 12 years old. His father, Josiah, had been a notable musician who won the Eisteddfod three times and played the flute with the London Symphony Orchestra. His mother Mary Esther was also a talented singer and pianist. Tutored by their father, Thomas, his elder brother David ("Elwyn"), and his younger sister Gwyneth all learned singing at an early age. Thomas graduated from the technical school in Scranton, initially intending to become an engineering draughtsman. However, his plans changed in 1932 when he placed first at an Atwater Kent singing competition and then placed second in the national finals. Shortly after that, both he and his brother David won scholarships to study singing with Oscar Seagle in New York.

Thomas began making a name for himself on the concert circuit and in 1937 became the youngest singer and only Welshman to have won the Metropolitan Opera's annual radio auditions. The prize was $1000 and the offer of a seven-year contract with the company. He made his debut there on 15 May 1937 as Silvio in Pagliacci. The Mayor of Scranton was in the audience along with 1200 of the city's residents who had travelled to New York for the occasion. The performance was generally well received, but Thomas decided to turn down the contract and return to a concert career instead, believing himself to be too inexperienced to commit himself to a career at the Met. In 1941, he made one exception to his abdandonment of the opera stage, when he sang the title role in Walter Damrosch's opera Cyrano, after Ezio Pinza had withdrawn from the production less than a month before the opening night. Damrosch had considerably re-written the opera since its 1913 premiere at the Met with Pasquale Amato as Cyrano. The revised version premiered in concert form at Carnegie Hall on 21 February 1941 with excellent reviews for Thomas who "revealed a fresh and voluminous voice". After the performances ended, Damrosch wrote to Thomas:

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