Chinese-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). A former member of the International Opera Studio at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Britten's assingments there included 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. Britten also recently made his house and role debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, singing the role of Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri.
The 2025-2026 season will include a number of notable engagements for Britten, including a role and house debut as Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment with Boston Lyric Opera, concert performances of Carmina Burana and Turandot (role debut of Pong) with the Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes, and a return to the Hungarian State Opera for Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algieri.
Britten’s 2024-2025 season included Handel’s Messiah with the Vancouver Bach Choir under the baton of Leslie Dala and The Philadelphia Orchestra for a return collaboration with Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Following a summer covering Don Ottavio at The Glyndebourne Festival, Britten's 2023-2024 season included a debut at the Hungarian State Opera in L'Italiana in Algeri, a cover of Tonio in La fille du régiment at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Handel’s Messiah with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Orchestre Métropolitain at the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, and a house and role debut as Pepe/Official in Opera Southwest’s production of Before Night Falls.
Mr. Britten was a finalist in the Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition and the Edmonton Opera Rumbold Vocal Prize, and has received career development grants from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers and the Vancouver Opera Guild. He was also a semi-finalist in the Paris Opera Competition and a final rounds singer at Neue Stimmen. Britten was a member of 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.
