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The American bass, Matt Boehler, is a graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center and he held a three-year tenure as a resident artist with Minnesota Opera. At Viterbo University, his first alma mater, he graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts.
Hailed by The New York Times as “a bass with an attitude and the goods to back it up,” Matt Boehler has been critically acclaimed both for his dramatic skill and his vocal ability. In recent seasons, he has enjoyed busy schedules on both the operatic stage and the concert platform. He joined the rosters of Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Metropolitan Opera, covering roles at both houses. He has been featured in productions with Minnesota Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Central City Opera, Florentine Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Opera New Jersey and Festival Lyrique-en-mer. In concert, he has been heard with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Oratorio Society of New York. He has been seen in several critically acclaimed performances with the New York Festival of Song and he recently appeared in recital at Spoleto Festival USA and with the Lotte Lehmann Foundation.
Matt Boehler is also a frequent collaborator within the world of contemporary music. In addition to the work of recent seasons, he has been seen in two world premieres of John Musto’s work: The Inspector with Wolf Trap Opera and Bastianello, along with William Bolcom’s Lucrezia, with New York Festival of Song. He premiered Michael Dellaira’s The Secret Agent with Center for Contemporary Opera, and he has been seen in Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming and Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale, both with Minnesota Opera.
In the 2011-2012 season, Matt Boehler sang Drebednev in Moscow, Cheryomushki with Chicago Opera Theater, Nourabad in Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles for Hawaii Opera Theater, and two operas by Philip Glass: In the Penal Colony with American Opera Projects and Kepler with Spoleto Festival USA. Additionally, he was heard in performances of George Frideric Handel's Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Portland Baroque Orchestra. The season of 2012-2013 found him making several house and role debuts. He joined the ensemble of Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland as Sarastro in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Count Horn in Un ballo in maschera, Pedone in La Wally, Marchese di Calatrava in La forza del destino, Leone in Attila and as Sparafucile in Rigoletto, a role he debuted recently with the Minnesota Orchestra. He made his Madison Opera debut as Leporello in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, and a highly acclaimed New York City Opera debut as the Hotel Manager in Thomas Ades’ Powder Her Face, a role he reprised with the Festival Opéra de Quèbec. He also returned to Carnegie Hall for performances of Messiah with Musica Sacra.
The 2013-2014 season brought Matt Boehler’s return to the Metropolitan Opera for The Nose, his debut with Canadian Opera Company as Sir Walter Raleigh in Roberto Devereux and his cover of the title role in Don Quichotte, and a reprise of his Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony. Additionally, he returned to Theater St. Gallen for his role debut as Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Pfarrer/Dachs in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto. He also joined the St. Galler Festspiele as Baldassare in La favorita for their 2014 festival season. The 2014-2015 season included returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Bertrand in Iolanta and Madison Opera as Rocco in L.v. Beethoven's Fidelio, and debuts with Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie in Daphne, Michigan Opera Theater as Méphistophélès in Charles Gounod's Faust, and Des Moines Metro Opera as Osmin in W.A. Mozart's Die Enführung aus dem Serail.
Last season (2015-2016), Matt Boehler debuted with Dallas Opera as the Donkey in the world premiere of Mark Adamo's Becoming Santa Claus, with Bard Summerscape as Il Cieco in Mascagni’s Iris, and he made his role debut as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier with Victory Hall Opera, with whom he is an ensemble member. He also returned to Carnegie Hall with performances of Messiah with Musica Sacra. His most recent season (2016-2017) included a critically lauded performance of Rautavaara’s Vigilia at St. John of the Divine in New York, his much-anticipated return to Canadian Opera Company as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, and Mr. Mister in Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock at Opera Saratoga.
The upcoming season of 2017-2018 includes roles in two world premieres: Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell's Elizabeth Cree with Opera Philadelphia and Michael Gordon and Deborah Artman's Acquanetta with the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York City. He returns to Madison Opera for performances of Osmin in Abduction from the Seraglio, as well as returning to his home company of Minnesota Opera for performances of Bartolo in W.A. Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Sparafucile in Rigoletto. He will also sing W.A. Mozart's Requiem Mass with conductor Kent Tritle at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. He currently lives in San Francisco, California.
His discography includes recordings of Bastianello and Lucrezia with NYFOS and a disc of songs by Stefan Wolpe with pianist Ursula Oppens; he can also be heard on recordings of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and of Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust with American Symphony Orchestra as well. |
