The Scene
People
Matthew DiBattista
Described as “brilliant” by _Opera News,_ tenor Matthew DiBattista is continually in demand on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, having performed opera and concert works throughout the United States and Europe. He has sung with such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Sir Andrew Davis, James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Keith Lockhart, and Robert Shaw. Known for an exceptionally varied repertoire, Mr. DiBattista has performed over 60 different roles to date, spanning the entire operatic repertoire.
Mr. DiBattista’s engagements in the 2018-19 season include Triquet in _Eugene Onegin_ and the Witch in _Hansel und Gretel_ with Michigan Opera Theare, Amrou in _La Reine de Saba_ with Odyssey Opera, soloist in Britten’s War Requiem with the Wichita Symphony, and the Doctor in Poul Ruder’s _The Handmaid’s Tale_ with Boston Lyric Opera, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. In the 2017-18 season, Mr. DiBattista made debuts with Michigan Opera Theatre as Matteo Borsa in Rigoletto, with the Santa Fe Opera as Goro in Madama Butterfly and as Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos in the summer of 2018. He was also tenor soloist in a Bernstein centennial concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
His engagements in the 2016-17 season included a debut with Minnesota Orchestra as the First Jew in _Salome,_ Normanno in _Lucia di Lammermoor_ with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Don Basilio in _Le nozze di Figar_o with Boston Lyric Opera, and Handel’s _Ode for St. Cecelia’s Day_ with Masterworks Chorale. In the 2015-16 season, he returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago as Faninal’s Major-Domo in _Der Rosenkavalier,_ Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as The Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, and he was soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. DiBattista performed the past four seasons with Lyric Opera of Chicago (Parsifal, Capriccio, Der Rosenkavalier, Lucia di Lammermoor). Other successes include performanceswith the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Die Meistersinger, Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music, Norma), Glimmerglass Opera (The Abduction from the Seraglio, Falstaff, The Mother of Us All, Of Mice and Men, Central Park), Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera (Pagliacci), Opera Omaha (The Tender Land), Tulsa Opera (Elmer Gantry, Of Mice and Men), Opera Boston (Angels in America, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Madam White Snake, The Nose, Tippett’s Midsummer’s Dream), Virginia Opera (A Streetcar Named Desire), Opera Colorado (Tosca), Tanglewood Music Center, Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater (_Thérèse Raquin, The Good Soldier Schweik_ - “Matthew DiBattista portrayed the title character with a Chaplin-esque blend of whimsy and pathos. The luminous quality of DiBattista’s tenor was suited to both the mischevious, animated scenes as well as the poignant, affecting arias.” - Culture Spot LA), Boston Lyric Opera (Madama Butterfly, Midsummer Night’s Dream) and has appeared for eight of the last nine seasons as principal artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (Pagliacci, Il tabarro, The Death of Klinghoffer, Alice in Wonderland, The Magic Flute, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Marriage of Figaro, The Ghosts of Versailles- “as the villain Bégearss, the mega-talented Matthew DiBattista was appropriately showy…” - Opera News).
He has been on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera (Roméo et Juliette) and has won great acclaim in a tour de force assignment – the four servants in _Les contes D’Hoffmann_ (Florida Grand Opera, Opera Colorado, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Palm Beach Opera).
On the concert state, Mr. DiBattista has been a soloist in Britten’s _War Requiem_ with the Dayton Philharmonic, Mozart’s _Requiem_ at the 100 Day Festival in Lisbon, Portugal, _Beethoven’s Symphony #9_ (Boston Landmarks Orchestra at Fenway Park, Fresno Symphony, Wichita Symphony), _Carmina Burana_ (Wichita Symphony, New Orleans Opera), Rachmaninoff’s _All-Night Vigil_ (Cincinatti May Festival), Britten’s _Nocturne_ (Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra), as well as many performances of Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Bach _Passions, Mass in B-Minor, Magnificat_ and Christmas Oratorio, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Haydn’s _Creation_ and _Mass in time of War,_ and Berlioz’s _L’enfance du Christ_ with various orchestras and choruses around the country.
Mr. DiBattista can be heard as soloist in Samuel’s _Hyacinth from Apollo_ (Vienna Modern Masters) and as the title role in Kamran Ince’s _Judgment of Midas_ (Albany Records).