Please join Athlone Artists in sending well wishes to tenor Spencer Britten and baritone Xiaomeng Zhang as they embark on their respective journeys with the international opera studios of Staatsoper Berlin and Opernhaus Zürich this month. Both have arrived in Europe and are thrilled for the chance to perform on the operatic stage once again.
“The Berlin vibe is exciting but also relaxed. I love it!” says Spencer. “I am so excited to be a part of nine different productions and two concerts (56 performances in all) this season at Staatsoper Unter den Linden at Staatsoper Berlin. Some of the roles I am looking forward to are Gastone in La traviata, Borsa in Rigoletto, and Heinrich der Schreiber in Tannhäuser (my Wagner debut). The company and fellow members of the International Opera Studio have been incredibly kind and welcoming. It is going to be a wonderful (and busy) season!”
Britten will also bring his “full voice and ringing tone” (La Scena Musicale) to the roles of Der Haushofmeister bei Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), the First Priest (Die Zauberflöte), Parpignol (La bohème) the Fourth Jew (Salome) and Postillon in La Fanciulla del West.
2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council finalist Xiameng Zhang will bring his “sonorous” and “commanding” voice (San Francisco Chronicle) to the roles of Ratgeber/Riese/Einhorn in Wolfgang Mitterer’s Das tapfere Schneiderlein, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, a company member in Sweeney Todd, and L’impresario in Donizetti’s Viva la mamma.
“I am proud to be part of such an exclusive roster of artists in the Zürich International Opera Studio,” says Xiaomeng, “and I am really looking forward to singing on that stage.”
Miguel Rodriguez, Founder and President of Athlone Artists, is especially proud of these two. “I’m so thrilled that Canadian tenor Spencer Britten and Chinese baritone Xiaomeng Zhang are able to join such renowned international opera studios, especially during a time when so many houses are closed due to the pandemic,” he says. “I know both artists will greatly benefit from the experience of working at such high artistic levels, and can’t wait to see them perform on their respective stages.”
