Michael Spyres

Michael Spyres is an American tenor recognized for his unusually wide range, singing roles that span light, high bel canto parts and heavier, darker dramatic tenor and even baritone repertoire. At Naples Philharmonic he appears as a soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the "Choral" symphony, alongside a new work by Dan Forrest's contemporary Jake Runestad.

Spyres is known for a voice that can move between the bright, agile singing needed for early nineteenth century Italian and French opera and the weightier, darker sound usually reserved for German dramatic tenors. Listeners who know him from opera houses often remark on how evenly he moves through his range, without an obvious seam between his lower and upper registers. In Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the tenor has one prominent solo moment in the final movement, a march-like passage marked by fast, articulated singing over a driving orchestral accompaniment, often described as a "Turkish march" because of its percussion. Expect clear diction and a sense of forward momentum in that passage, qualities that suit Spyres's reputation for precision at speed.