James Kryshak, Spoletta

American spieltenor James Kryshak is admired for his extraordinary upper register and magnetic presence as a singing actor. With a voice capable of navigating extreme tessitura and an instinct for vivid characterization, he is equally at home in comic and dramatic roles, and has established himself as a distinctive and versatile presence on the world’s leading stages.

This season, James makes his debut with Detroit Opera as Spoletta in Tosca. He also returns to the Komische Oper Berlin, performing roles in two productions directed by Barrie Kosky—Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd and the Astrologer in The Golden Cockerel. James will also return to the Opéra national de Lorraine as the Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski in a new production of Berstein’s Candide, which will tour to Opéra de Reims and the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg.

Last season, James returned to the Semperoper Dresden as Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, and to the Staatsoper Hamburg in three contrasting roles—Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and the First Jew in Salome. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden as Pong in Turandot, and reprised the role of the Police Inspector in Barrie Kosky’s production of The Nose at the Komische Oper Berlin. On the concert platform, he joined the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam for performances as Bob Boles in Peter Grimes and the High Priest in Akhnaten. He also appeared as Federico in a new staging of Stiffelio at Theater an der Wien and sang the role of Five in Philip Venables’s We Are The Lucky Ones at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl.

In the 2024–25 season, James returned to Opera Ballet Vlaanderen to make his role debut as Der Hauptmann in a new production of Wozzeck. He also returned to the Komische Oper Berlin as Beadle Bamford, made his debut at the Finnish National Opera reprising the role of Squealer in Alexander Raskatov’s Animal Farm, and appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra as the First Jew in concert performances of Salome conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.

Other recent highlights include his debuts at the Staatsoper Stuttgart as Dr. Caius and at the Opéra national de Lorraine as the Lottery Agent in Der Silbersee. He also performed a virtuosic array of roles in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland at the Concertgebouw with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.