Born in the Ozarks into a highly musical family, Michael Spyres has become one of the most celebrated tenors of his generation. Widely regarded as the only active baritenor today, he is acclaimed for the extraordinary breadth of his repertoire, spanning Baroque, Classical, Bel Canto, Romantic, French Grand Opera and Wagnerian roles.
In recent years he has emerged as one of the leading Heldentenors of today. He made his Wagner debut as Lohengrin at the Opéra du Rhin, followed by acclaimed debuts as Siegmund in Die Walküre and Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bayreuth Festival. His repertoire also includes Tristan, Hoffmann, Nemorino, Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and leading roles across the Italian, French and German traditions.
Spyres has appeared at many of the world’s foremost opera houses and festivals, including Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Salzburg Festival, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the BBC Proms.
Alongside his international career, he has served since 2015 as Artistic Director of the Ozarks Lyric Opera, producing operas and concerts. He has collaborated with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Sir Mark Elder.
Among his distinctions are the International Opera Award, the OPER! Award, the Opus Klassik Award and the Gramophone Classical Music Award. In 2021 he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu during the 2012/13 season with Les contes d’Hoffmann, returning with La favorite (2017/18), Mitridate, re di Ponto (2020/21), Carmen (2023/24) and L'elisir d'amore (2025/26).