Biography
This winter Jake will make his European debut joining Forum Neue Kunst as their baritone resident artist in Oldenburg, Germany. In their season Jake will be Der Pilot in the world premiere of Hõbepappel’s Der kleine Prinz.
Born and raised near Detroit, baritone Jake Surzyn has performed with many of Michigan’s opera companies including Detroit Opera and Opera MODO. With Detroit Opera he covered the role of Councilman in Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves and performed in Yuval Sharon’s production of Ragnar Kjartansson’s Bliss as Antonio and Rodríguez’s Frida as Mr. Rockefeller. Throughout Michigan he has sung the roles of Der Lautsprecher in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Doctor Gregg in Gallantry, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Crespel in Les contes d’Hoffmann, King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, and covered Guglielmo in a virtual Così fan tutte.
Jake was a resident artist at Indianapolis Opera in 2024 where he sang Fiorello and covered Figaro in their production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. He was an emerging artist at Opera Idaho during the 2022/2023 season, covering the roles of Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Macbeth (Macbeth), Jim Crowley (An American Dream), and Vodník (Rusalka) while performing as Fiorello, il Medico and il Servo, the FBI Detective, and the Hunter. In the 2021/2022 season he was a studio artist with Madison Opera where he covered Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor.
While obtaining his master’s degree at the University of Michigan Jake sang the roles of Schaunard (La bohème), Melisso (Alcina), and Cacambo (Candide). During his undergraduate studies at Oakland University he performed in Die Zauberflöte as Papageno, Die Fledermaus as Frank, and Pirates of Penzance as Samuel.
In 2019, 2021, and 2022 Jake was an emerging artist with Charlottesville Opera, having performed as Herr Zegler in The Sound of Music, Sir Lionel in Camelot, and covered Danilo in The Merry Widow, Franz in The Sound of Music, Marcello in La bohème, Lancelot in Camelot, and Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen.
An avid performer of oratorio, Jake has been a soloist in works ranging from the Baroque to the contemporary. These engagements include Mendelssohn's Elijah, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Haydn’s The Creation, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle. In April Jake covered the baritone soloist in University Musical Society’s performance of Brahms Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Jake, a champion of contemporary music, has sung Older Thompson in Cipullo’s Glory Denied, Mr. Johannes ‘Pa’ Zegner in Mazzoli’s Proving Up, The Pilot in Portman’s The Little Prince, and was the bass soloist in Lang’s the little match girl passion, Jesus in Chilcott’s St. John Passion, and the baritone soloist in Ticheli’s The Shore.
Recently, Jake was a developing artist with Central City Opera performing in Pirates of Penzance as Samuel and Street Scene as George Jones.
Jake serves as secretary and artist liaison for Opera de Metro, an opera company based in southeastern Michigan incepted in 2024. This season they will produce David Conte’s “The Gift of the Magi” and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.