Spencer Britten: Breaking Barriers in Opera, Identity & Queerness
Amanda Palmer Photography
PIB: What is your background and how do you identify?
Spencer: My background is a huge mixed bag. I am primarily Chinese/Filipino-Canadian/British. I identify as non-binary and typically use he/him/she/her pronouns, but will respond to almost anything.
PIB: How did you get into Opera?
Spencer: I thought I was going to be on Broadway (still could happen,) and I ended up working with a teacher who saw my apptitude for classical music. She tricked me into preparing songs for university auditions. Next thing I knew, I had gotten into the University of British Columbia music program. Once I started learning about opera, I fell in love with it. Now I do both Opera and Musical Theatre!
PIB: What is your experience in the Opera industry? Where have you performed? Why did you move to Calgary?
Spencer: I have been performing internationally for the past several years. My career has taken me to some of the biggest opera houses in the world! Highlights include Berlin, Chicago, Versailles, Prauge, and Budapest…to name a few.
After a few years going back and forth between Europe and North America, I felt like I needed to simmer down a bit. Be in one place a little longer than a few weeks at a time and start making some semblence of a home. When deciding to move back to Canada, Calgary seemed like the most logical place in terms of affordability and airline travel. I also have some of my best friends in Calgary.
Chinatown - City Opera Vancouver 2022 - Diamond’s Edge Photography
PIB: What is your experience as a queer person in Opera? In Calgary so far?
Spencer: Being a queer person in Opera can be tricky. While most people think the arts is full of queer people, opera is still a cis-white-hetero dominated industry. And all I’ll say is they aren’t always allies. I am lucky to have been a part of several queer operas in my career so far. Before Night Falls - An opera about cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, a queer reimagening of Ravel's L’heure espagnole, and the world premiere of Chinatown which is about 2 chinese immegrant men who move from China to Vancouver and fall in love. There is a video on my instagram where I breakdown all the queer characters I have played PLUS all the traditional characters I decided to make queer in my interpretation. I never thought portraying queer characters on stage was in the cards. I feel so fortunate to get to express my queerness in this artform.
Calgary has been so welcoming to me. In just a few months I have met so many wonderful people and felt like I have really gotten to know the city.
Diamond’s Edge Photography
PIB: How can the 2SLGBTQ+ community support you and your industry?
Spencer: By simply attending operas and concerts, the 2SLGBTQ+ community would be supporting the industry. Buy a subscription, attend multiple shows/concerts, and figure out what you like. Classical music and opera is much more expansive than people think. Just because you like dislike one opera, doesn’t mean you’ll dislike the next! If you need some starter operas..hit me up and we will figure out what I think you’d enjoy.
Donate, sponsor, and hire singers! If you have the money to give or an event that could use a little entertainment, get to know your local singers! Many of us can pull out a hit aria (opera song) or some musical theatre no problem. We are also often traveling for auditions on our own dollar. The expenses of pursing this career run very high. Its like buying plane tickets across the world to attend an interview. If you have the capacity to donate money or travel points to a singer, it is extremely helpful!
Before Night Falls - Opera Southwest - Lance W. Ozier Photography
PIB: Where can one find out more about your performances and your work?
Spencer: You can find my schedule, performance history, recordings, etc all online. I am @spencerbritten on social media and my website is www.spencerbritten.com
PIB: If one was interested in your industry, what is the best way to get started?
Spencer: If someone wanted to be an opera singer, step one is to find a good teacher that can help build a foundation. It is never to late to find your voice! I love teaching all levels and all ages the basics of breathing and singing. (You think you know how to breath until you are learning to sing…its a weird thing I know.)
PIB: Are you open to being contacted to discuss further?
Spencer: I would love to chat! Send me a DM on instagram or through my website!
The Makropulos Case - Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin) 2022
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jarom Moriyama-Bondar
PIB — Content Writer
Pride In Business article in partnership with TD.
By Jarom Moriyama-Bondar