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The American soprano, Andrea Matthews, studied singing at Princeton University (A.B. 1978), American Institute for Musical Studies, Graz (1982), Bel Canto School, St. Margherita Ligure, Italy (1989, Voice: Shirlee Emmons and Conrad L. Osborne. She also studied Alexander Technique Center at Cambridge (teaching certification, 1998), Advanced Professor Certificate in Counseling and Psychology at Lesley University (2002).
Andrea Matthews made herr debut Susanna in W.A. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro at Virginias Opera in 1984. She has won the enthusiastic praise of audiences as well as critics for her work in opera, concert, recital, and recording. Among her operatic roles are Gilda in Rigoletto (Piedmont Opera), Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (Stadttheater Aachen), Zerlina in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni (Greensboro Opera), Susanna in W.A. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Marie in Bartered Bride, Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, (Virginia Opera), Nannetta in Falstaff, Musetta in La Bohème, Ilia in W.A. Mozart's Idomineo (Stadttheater Aachen), Germany and Violetta in La Traviata, which she performed during her two-year engagement (1990-1992) with the Aachen Opera in Germany, as well as on tour in Spain, Portugal, and Paris, France.
Andrea Matthews has appeared in recent seasons with the Boston Academy of Music in their productions of Arabella (named by Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe as “Best of Boston 1998”), Vanessa, and Il Trittico. Of her performance as Erika in Vanessa, Susan Larson of The Boston Globe noted: “Matthews wrung agony from her soul…she is a generous singer, honest down to her bones.” She reprised her role for the recently released and much praised recording of Vanessa on Naxos. Of her performance in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (soon to be released on the Arsis label), Richard Dyer wrote in the Globe: “As the elusive Mélisande, Andrea Matthews bound her expressive delivery of the words into exquisitely colored musical phrases, carried on a seamless legato.”
Andrea Matthews' remarkably extensive and varied concert repertoire ranges from the works of J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms to the symphonies of Gustav Mahler and Strauss’ Four Last Songs, to Lloyd Webber’s Requiem, Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces, Glière’s Concerto for Soprano and Orchestra, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Górecki’s Third Symphony. She has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Prague Autumn Music Festival in the Czech Republic; Stuttgarter Philharmoniker in Germany; New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival and 92nd St. Y Chamber Symphony, as well as Puerto Rico Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, La Crosse Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, New Jersey Choral Society, Collegiate Chorale, Dessoff Choirs, Oratorio Society of New York, American Ballet Theatre, New Mexico Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, American Symphony, Musica Sacra Florida Orchestra, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Ralleigh Symphony, Berkshire Bach Society (Massachusetts) and many others. She has had the pleasure of working with such renowned conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Hugh Wolff, Charles Dutoit, Robert Shaw, Dennis Russell Davies, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Neeme Järvi, JoAnn Falletta, and Gerard Schwarz. She has given art-song recitals in California, Louisiana, New York City, Connecticut, New York Stae, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, New Mexico, Florida and New Jersey.
Andrea Matthews’ appearances for the 2003-2004 included: a Wagner Marathon (the inaugural concert of Richard Conrad's The Bostonians); Heinrich Schütz’ Symphoniae Sacrae with Concord Chorus, Massachusetts; G.F. Handel’s Chandos Anthems 4 & 11 and J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 112 with Berkshire Bach Society in Great Barrington, Massachusetts; G.F. Handel’s Messiah with Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey; the title role in Victor Herbert’s Eileen with Richard Conrad's The Bostonians; Orff’s Carmina Burana with Choral Arts Society of Portland, ME; L.v. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Wellesley-Brandeis Orchestra; and J. Brahms’ Requiem with Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus.
Andrea Matthews She can be heard on Newport Classic, PolyGram, Vox Cum Laude, Premier, and Naxos CD's. The include: Ralph Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music (Vox Cum Laude). Recent engagements include George Frideric Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra, W.A. Mozart’s Requiem and Exsultate, jubilate with the Bach Festival of Winter Park (Florida), and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Jacksonville Symphony (Florida), which was recently released on the orchestra’s first-ever CD (available through the Symphony).
A certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, Andrea Matthews is the editor of ExChange, the journal of Alexander Technique International. She is also a member and Coordinator of the Voice Faculty at Wellesley College (Massachusetts, USA). She is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in International Music. She is represented by Laurence Wasserman of Thea Dispeker Inc., in New York City. |
