Operatic tenor Michael Spyres was born in 1979 in Mansfield, Missouri. While his repertoire has been varied – from baroque to 20th century - he is best known for his bel canto repertoire which includes the heroic roles in French grand opera and the works of Rossini. Michael Spyres was born into a musical family and studied singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. He first came to prominence in 2008 with his performance as Rossini's Otello at the Rossini in Wildbad festival in Germany. Since that performance, he has performed at the world’s most prestigious international opera houses, festivals and concert halls including Teatro San Carlo, Teatro dell‘Opera di Roma, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the English National Opera, Nederlands National Opera, Berliner Festspiele, the Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and many more. Since 2015, Michael Spyres has had the honor to be the only international opera star who is not just a performer but also an impresario – he is the Artistic Director of his hometown opera company, the Ozarks Lyric Opera. Michael Spyres’ catalog of recordings includes A Fool for Love (2011), Berlioz: Les Troyens (2017), Rossini: Amici e Rivali (2020), Baritenor (2021), Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7 - Harold en Italie, Op. 16 (2022), Contra-Tenor (2023), and In the Shadows (2024), which features rare arias by Wagner.
