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discipline = "Tenor"
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primary_image_credit = ""
related_companies = ["scene/companies/lyric-opera-of-kansas-city.md", "scene/companies/opera-atelier.md", "scene/companies/edmonton-opera.md", "scene/companies/glimmerglass-festival.md", "scene/companies/staatsoper-berlin.md", "scene/companies/vancouver-opera.md", "scene/companies/against-the-grain-theatre.md"]
slug = "spencer-britten"
title = "Spencer Britten"
website = "https://www.spencerbritten.com/"
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Triple threat Canadian tenor Spencer Britten has been praised for having “the poise and confidence of a seasoned professional” (_Bachtrack_) and boasting a “full voice and ringing tone” (_La Scena Musicale_). Britten recently completed his second season as a member of the International Opera Studio at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, where he portrayed the roles of Janke Prus in a new production of _The Makropulos Affair,_ Erste Priester in _Die Zauberflöte,_ Haushofmeister bei Faninal in _Der Rosenkavalier_, Silango in _Le Cinesi_, Kalil in _Die Arabische Nacht,_ Postillione in _La Fanciulla del West_, Offizier in _Ariadne auf Naxos,_ and Borsa in _Rigoletto_. He also recently made his house and role debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, singing the role of Lindoro in _L’Italiana in Algeri_.

Britten’s 2022-23 season opens with the role of Chung Saihin in the world premiere of _Chinatown_, a new opera from composer Alice Ping Yee Ho, at the Vancouver Playhouse, followed by the role of Sailor in Opera Atelier’s _Dido and Aeneas_. He then sings as a soloist in Handel’s _Messiah_ with the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois Rivières and in a holiday concert with the Edmonton Opera, sings the role of Lysander in Vancouver Opera’s production of _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, and appears as a soloist in Mozart’s _Requiem_ with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Georg Muffat’s _Missa in labore requies_ with the Philharmonia Baroque, and Orff’s _Carmina Burana_ with the Orchestra Classique de Montréal.

Britten spent two seasons with the Glimmerglass Festival, where he showed his aptitude for both musical theatre and operatic repertoire in productions of _Showboat_ (Beau/Dealer/Dancer), _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ (Count Almaviva Cover), _Silent Night_ (French Soldier #2) and _Trouble in Tahiti_ (solo trio). While there, he also played the role of Gee-Tar in _West Side Story_, set by Julio Monge to the original Jerome Robbins choreography, and was selected as one of several cast members to continue with the production to Lyric Opera of Kansas City and The Atlanta Opera. He also acted as a Jet swing covering Diesel, Big Deal, Baby John, & Snowboy. In his second season at Glimmerglass, Britten acted as dance captain and performed the role of Léon in John Corigliano’s _The Ghosts of Versailles_, which he later reprised at the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles with “sweet clarity” (_Ôlyrix_).

Britten has performed as tenor soloist with the Choeur Metropolitain in Montréal with whom he worked with conductors François A. Ouimet, Pierre Tourville, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Benjamin Britten’s _Rejoice in the Lamb_ and Dvořák’s _Mass in D Major_. Britten’s recent performances have included a “brilliant” and “memorable” (_atuvu.ca_) turn as the goose in _Carmina Burana_ with Les Grands Ballets; a solo appearance “oozing with mirth and personality” (_Opera Canada_) in Against the Grain’s Theatre’s groundbreaking film production _Messiah/Complex_, and a “felicitous turn as Monsieur Triquet” in l’Opéra de Montréal’s production of _Eugene Onegin_” (_ConcertoNet_)_._

Britten was recently a finalist in the Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition and has received career development grants from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers and the Vancouver Opera Guild. He was a member at L’Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, after having completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of British Columbia and training since the age of six at the Caulfield School of Dance and Coastal Sound Music Academy in Port Moody, BC, Canada.