ENTERTAINMENT

Can Michael Spyres make Springfield care about opera?

Gregory J. Holman
GHOLMAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Mansfield's own Michael Spyres sings during the Springfield Regional Opera's Jazz Aria fundraiser at The DoubleTree hotel in Springfield on March 12, 2016.

Michael Spyres has a breathtaking voice and carries the local opera community's hopes.

"This will be something Springfield hasn't seen before," Spyres said, referring to his spring plans for Springfield Regional Opera.

Established in 1979, the opera passed through a rough patch last year. Icy February weather meant a key performance was postponed, then canceled. The company ended the year $10,600 in the red.

In June, the opera went into reset mode.

Now, Springfield’s opera is betting on Spyres, its new 36-year-old artistic director.

"People in Europe will stand in line and spend money (to see Spyres perform)," said Cindy Curtis, president of the opera’s 18-member board since June. "And if he could be in their backyard, they'd be ecstatic, and we have him right here. We're seeing someone who is internationally renowned, and he's right here in our backyard."

"In this town in particular, I don't think people realize what a jewel they have in Michael Spyres," Curtis said.

Spyres is a lyric tenor called a “rising star” among the world’s young opera singers in a recent issue of Opera News. His story is one of Ozarks roots (he’s from Mansfield), international travel and famous — in the world of opera, anyway — people.

Last year, he performed in Chicago alongside Renée Fleming (this is like singing hip-hop next to Beyoncé) in a comic opera.

Robert Carolla, another opera board member, saw Spyres sing in Chicago. Unlike some opera singers, "Michael can act," Carolla said. “Michael's funny; he does a little dance, he gets the audience going."

Spyres performs in major U.S. cities sometimes, but he told the News-Leader he mostly sings for a living in western Europe. At this point in his career, he said he doesn't really have to audition for opera jobs.

When he's in London, Spyres has coffee with Terry Gilliam: Yes, the guy from "Monty Python." They sang together in an opera there two years ago; next year, they'll be working together in Berlin.

Last month, Spyres was in France singing Mozart.

But he flew home to Springfield in time to rehearse for “Jazz Aria,” a $95-per-plate event held Saturday. It sold about 115 tickets; the opera's biggest fundraiser of the year.

Lately, raising funds has been critical. Curtis, of the opera board, is credited with marshaling volunteers and reining in costs.

In an interview with the News-Leader, Spyres said "the [Springfield Regional] opera was looking like it was going to go under" last year before he began talking to the board about contributing his talents.

"I've been wanting to come back and help out in any fashion that I could," he said.

Eight months later, the question of whether enough people in Springfield care about opera to sustain it is one that opera folks answer with optimism.

"I think this community has a lot of people who are really supportive of the arts, and I do think they care," Curtis said. "It really is a reflection of the economic strength of this town that we can keep all these arts organizations alive and thriving."

Spyres and board members repeat that it’s unusual for a city of Springfield’s size to have an opera company.

Numbers tell the story: In 2013, Springfield’s opera had revenues of $176,914. A neighbor, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, took in $14.1 million.

Curtis is bent on wringing everything out of the opera’s resources at hand, and developing new ones. She believes they’ll find new audiences with Spyres’ help.

"He's young,” she said. “He's exciting when he talks about opera. He can make people excited. That's important."

A new musical vision — including at least "one beautifully staged opera each year, that has full orchestra, full production, everything that a full opera should be," in Curtis's words — is at the core of the opera’s plans.

It's been about three years since they were able to put on a fully staged opera, officials said, but they’ll have one this spring.

Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," which premiered in Vienna, Austria in 1786, is scheduled April 1-2 at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield. Tickets range from $20 to $35.

"It's mayhem," Spyres said, referring to the response to "Figaro," both in 18th-century Europe and more recently. "Class structure is always taboo."

Curtis and Spyres both emphasized the importance of quality productions, of being relevant to their audience and on educating people about opera.

If 500 people attend each "Figaro" performance, that would be "on par with other major operas we produce," Sypres said.

"I think that 'Figaro' is going to be a money-maker for us at the Gillioz," Carolla said.

Meanwhile, the opera is working on new forms of outreach.

Since 2014, they've performed 20-minute operas for Springfield kindergartners and first-graders as part of the Any Given Child project.

Last year, the opera did "The Three Little Pigs;" this year, "Alice in Wonderland: A Lesson in Honesty" goes in front of 36 schools.

After the show, kids have told performers that they are "the best singers in the world."

The program exposes children to a time-honored art form — and maybe, it's creating the next generation of opera fans.

The Business of Opera

Springfield Regional Opera officials said that fiscal 2014 (ending June 30) left them with some debt, which they said is close to being paid off. They hope to hire an administrative manager in the coming months, but in the meantime the board is cutting costs for the current fiscal year by volunteering to run the opera's business side.

The Business of Opera

FY 2014 
Total Revenue: $89,700
Total Expenses: $100,365
Operating Loss: $10,665

FY 2013
Total Revenue: $176,914
Total Expenses: $178,329 
Operating Loss: $1,415

FY 2012
Total Revenue: $135,407
Total Expenses: $145,693
Operating Loss: $10,286

FY 2011
Total Revenue: $184,619
Total Expenses: $176,258
Operating Excess: $8,361

FY 2010
Total Revenue: $149,559
Total Expenses: $151,017
Operating Loss: $1,458

FY 2009
Total Revenue: $118,459
Total Expenses: $93,871
Operating Excess: $24,588

Sources: Form 990-EZ via National Center for Charitable Statistics and ProPublica; Springfield Regional Opera Inc.