Canadian baritone Jonah Spungin, whose voice has been described as “bursting with power, and also full of colours” (Der Opernfreund), recently made his German debut as Jack Rance in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at Landestheater Detmold, where he then took on the role of Papageno (Die Zauberflöte).
Spungin made his European mainstage debut in 2023 in the role of Tsargo in the Swedish premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater with Norrlandsoperan, repeating that role in the same production at Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2024. In Sweden, he has also been seen as Jan Nyman in the Scandinavian premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves with Vadstena-akademien and at Malmö Opera in the roles of Ping (Turandot) and Schaunard (La bohème).
The 2022/23 season saw Spungin singing King Dovid in the North American premiere of Henekh Kon’s Yiddish opera Bas Sheve with the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, where he was a member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. With the COC, he appeared in such roles as Dancaïre in Carmen, Marchese d’Obigny (La traviata), Marco (Gianni Schicchi), Second Priest (Die Zauberflöte), and John/Fantasma in the world premiere of Fantasma by Ian Cusson. His final performance in Toronto was Les Adieux, a recital of ballads, legends, and folksongs, recorded and broadcast by the CBC.
Spungin has also been a member of the opera studio at Calgary Opera, where he sang such roles as Marullo (Rigoletto), King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Belcore in an English language touring production of L’elisir d’amore, and Athenodorus the Philosopher in the world premiere of Veronika Krausas’s Ghost Opera. During this time he also joined the Calgary Philharmonic for a concert of Händel’s Messiah excerpts, as well as understudying the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah and ultimately stepping in for the concert.
Jonah holds a Master’s in Voice and Opera from McGill University where he sang many roles with Opera McGill, such as Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor). He won 2nd prize in the OCS New Discoveries Competition, is a laureate of Opéra de Montréal’s Talent 2019 Competition and the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Competition, was a finalist in the COC Centre Stage Competition, and a quarterfinalist in the Concours musical international de Montréal.
Spungin is currently a member of the Fest ensemble at Landestheater Detmold.
