Sir Thomas Boaz Allen CBE (born 10 September 1944) is an English operatic baritone. He is widely admired in the opera world for his voice, the versatility of his repertoire, and his acting—leading many to regard him as one of the best lyric baritones of the late 20th century. In October 2011, he was appointed Chancellor of Durham University, succeeding Bill Bryson. 　　Allen has now performed at Covent Garden for over thirty-five years, recently having played in total fifty roles with the company, with Faninal from Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier marking his 50th role in December 2009. The 25th anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera was celebrated in 2006. Allen has also been revealed as being the model and inspiration in developing the now famous character of Billy Elliot in the play of the same name by Lee Hall. 　　In September 2008, he performed under the direction of Woody Allen in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for the Los Angeles Opera as well as at the Spoleto Festival in June 2009. The year 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of his professional debut at the WNO in 1969, also marking the four decades he has been in the opera world. During the same year, he took part in the annual BBC Proms, singing songs from numerous MGM musicals such as Gigi, Kismet and On the Town at the Royal Albert Hall, London. In the 2009/10 opera season, he appeared in operas in America, Germany and the United Kingdom; as Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Prosdocimo in Il turco in Italia and Gianni Schicchi at Covent Garden. 　　On 11 October 2011 Allen was appointed Chancellor of Durham University by the University's Convocation, to serve from 1 January 2012 in succession to Bill Bryson. His first concert with the university took place in Durham Cathedral on 1 June 2013, appearing alongside over 100 student performers. On 27 January 2012, Allen marked his 40th anniversary at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, singing the role of Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte. 　　In 2015, he sang the role of Baron Zeta in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Franz Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow.