“When in doubt,” one of my dads told me at a tender age, “play Mozart!” But there’s no doubt here: we have a major discovery (well, to me at least) of a spectacular talent: American tenor Michael Spyres. Listen to him in a Paris performance from little more than a week ago as the tyrannical titular character of Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto. 

Discussion of Spyres was a major topic on the “chat room” during the Met Maria Stuarda broadcast last week, so I thought it appropriate to post this.

I believe this is the next Mozart opera in line for widespread discovery. Think of all the many decades when we had only the da Ponte trilogy and Die Zauberflöte. Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Idomeneo and La clemenza di Tito are now repertoire staples, and since the 2006 Mozart Year, more and more are finding their way to contemporary stages after years of existing only in scores in dusty library shelves.

Mozart knocked this little gem off in 1770, at age 14 while he was traveling between engagements. I’ve actually seen two different productions (in Salzburg and Theater an der Wien) and hope to hear Spyres repeat his triumph when I visit Brussels in May.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mitridate, re di Ponto

Le Concert d’Astrée
Emmanuellë Haim, conductor
Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
20 February 2016

Mitridate – Michael Spyres
Aspasia – Patricia Petibon
Sifare – Myrtò Papatanasiu
Farnace – Christophe Dumaux
Ismene – Sabine Devieilhe
Marzio – Cyrille Dubois
Arbate – Jaël Azzaretti