BRETT SPRAGUE, 
Tenor

American tenor Brett Sprague has established himself as one of the brightest up and coming tenors in his repertoire, having been lauded in leading roles requiring eloquent lyricism, stark dramatic vocalism, extreme stamina, and intense physical storytelling. He joined the ensemble at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe at the beginning the 2024/25 season with the role of Mark in Ethel Smyth's masterwork, The Wreckers, a production directed by the famed Kieth Warner. Following this production in Karlsruhe, he
revisited the roles of Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. In October 2024, he returned to the Croatian National Theater in Rijeka for a gala concert featuring works by Bizet, Janaček, and Britten, closing the concert with selections from one of his signature roles, Peter Grimes. In 2025 he will sing
Lensky in Eugene Onegin, the title role in the first German production of Jonathan Dove's new opera, Itch, and a solo recital of 20th century English composers in Karlsruhe, before debuting at the Luzerner Theater as Peter Grimes to begin the 25/26 season.
 

The 2023/2024 season had an exciting slate of debuts for Mr. Sprague in his fifth and final year in the
ensemble at Theater Erfurt. He began by portraying the tortured title character in Benjamin Britten's
masterpiece, Peter Grimes, then made his Semperoper Dresden debut in the title role of Les contes d’Hoffmann, and finally debuted in the Wagnerian repertoire with the role of Loge in Das Rheingold, both in Erfurt and at the Croatian National Theater in Rijeka. Concert appearances included Britten's Serenade for
Tenor, Horn, and Strings with the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and world renowned Hornist Pascal Deuber in Switzerland, Verdi’s Requiem in Erfurt, and a solo recital featuring the compositions of Benjamin Britten.

Mr. Sprague’s previous highlights in Erfurt include the world premiere of Nestor Taylor's opera Eleni, where he sang the role of renowned author and journalist Nicholas Gage, and the title role of Orestes in Felix Weingartner's rediscovered dramatic opera, last performed over 110 years ago. Orestes was a finalist nominee for the International Opera Awards. Other productions included Le siège de Corinthe (Rossini) as Néoclès, Elektra (Strauss) as ein junger Diener, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach) in the title role, the world premiere of Mio mein Mio (Leipold) as Mios Vater, Manon Lescaut (Puccini) as Edmondo, In the Penal Colony (Glass) as the Visitor, "Die Rache der Fledermaus" (a new take on Johann Strauss's famous operetta) as Alfred, and Nabucco (Verdi) as Ismaele, Orleanskaya deva (Tchaikovsky) as King Charles VII,
Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck) as Die Knusperhexe, Don Pasquale (Donizetti) as Ernesto, and Das Märchen vom Zaren Zaltan (Rimsky-Korsakov) as Prinz Gwidon.
 

In 2019/2020 Mr. Sprague began his work in Germany with a new production of Der junge Lord (Henze) in the role of Lord Barrat with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, followed by a production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart) performing Pedrillo with the Thüringer Schlossfestspiele.

In addition to his operatic pursuits in Europe, Mr. Sprague is gaining acclaim for his performance as a concert soloist, most recently in Carmina Burana with the National Philarmonic Orchestra of Poland in Warsaw, the Göteborgs Symfoniker, and the Tampere Filharmonia, with future engagements in Oslo and
Paris. He also gained praise for his performances of Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle with the Jena Philharmonie and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt.
 

Before moving to Europe in 2019, Mr. Sprague had been performing across the United States, often called upon for the creation and production of contemporary operas. Highlights include the world premiere of Happy Birthday Wanda June (Clark) as Herb Shuttle and the American premiere of Mansfield Park (Dove) as Henry Crawford with Indianapolis Opera, the workshop of The Scarlet Letter (Laitman) with Opera Colorado and the development of a new opera with OnSite Opera in New York. Additionally, he has performed Laurie in Little Women (Adamo) with Eugene Opera. He is also very comfortable with the classic
repertoire, having performed many different roles spanning the gamut of musical periods and styles, including Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) at Opera Colorado and Antinoüs in Pénélope (Faure) with Vespertine Opera. Mr. Sprague received his professional training as a resident artist at Opera Colorado during the 2014 and 2014/2015 seasons. Performance highlights include Tamino and Erster Geharnischter in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), Don José and Remendado in Carmen (Bizet), and Borsa in Rigoletto (Verdi). He was also covered the role Il Duca in Rigoletto (Verdi) and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Puccini). He spent two summer seasons as a young artist with Chautauqua Opera. He received his Masters of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in 2012 and his Bachelors of Music degree from Chapman University in 2010.
 

Mr. Sprague is the recipient of numerous awards from institutions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Seattle Opera Guild, the Anita Cerquetti Competition, the CareerBridges organization, and the Joan Taub Ades Vocal Competition at Manhattan School of Music.