After graduating in 2001 from the Cincinnati Conservatory (USA), where he studied with William McGraw, Jeffrey Thompson was awarded first prize at the Chimay International Baroque Vocal Competition (Belgium) by a jury chaired by William Christie.
In 2002 he was chosen to participate in the first edition of the academy ‘Le Jardin des Voix’ with Les Arts Florissants (William Christie) on a European tour. He also sang under Christie as a soloist in Rameau’s motet In convertendo for a DVD released by Opus Arte.
Since then he has sung a variety of operatic roles in numerous international houses, including Zotico (Eliogabalo/Cavalli, conducted by René Jacobs, 2004, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, and Innsbruck Festival); Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte/Mozart, director William Kentridge, cond. Jacobs, La Monnaie, 2005); Ninus (Pirame et Thisbé/Rebel & Francoeur, cond. Daniel Cuiller, Nantes 2007). He was heard at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in Philidor’s opera Sancho Panza with La Simphonie du Marais (2010), and in Budapest as Testo in Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and as Hippolyte in Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie. In 2011-12 he sang the role of Aldobrandin in Grétry’s Le Magnifique in New York and Washington with Opera Lafayette (Ryan Brown) and Giancuir in J. C. Bach’s Zanaida with Opera Fuoco (David Stern) in Leipzig, Paris, and Vienna. During the 2012-13 season, he sings the roles of Acamas in Pyrrhus (Pancrace Royer) in Versailles, Castor in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with Pinchgut Opera in Sydney, and Glaucus in Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus in Budapest.
Alongside his operatic activities, Jeffrey Thompson also appears in concert (oratorios and recitals) with such ensembles as Ausonia (Frédérick Haas and Mira Glodeanu), Les Arts Florissants (William Christie), Boston Baroque, Faenza (Marco Horvat), Fuoco e Cenere (Jay Bernfeld), Handel and Haydn Society (Boston), Le Parnasse Français (Louis Castelain), Purcell Choir/Orfeo Orchestra (György Vashegyi, Budapest), La Rêveuse (Benjamin Perrot and Florence Bolton), and the Ensemble William Byrd (Graham O’Reilly).