Sally Matthews

Soprano Sally Matthews, a native of Southampton, studied voice with Cynthia Jolly as well as Johanna Peters and graduated from the opera studio of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. While still a student, she received the renowned Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1999. She acquired practical stage experience as a member of the Young Artist Program at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. There she also made her debut in 2001 as Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff under the baton of Bernard Haitink; shortly thereafter, she was cast in a production of Parsifal conducted by Simon Rattle. She also interpreted such Mozart roles as Susanna, Pamina, and Sifare and took the title role of Handel’s Semele. Her first appearances in continental Europe soon followed. She appeared as Pamina at Berlin’s State Opera, as Cavalli’s Calisto at the Bavarian State Opera, and as Fiordiligi at the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam. Sally Matthews made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana; at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan she sang under Seiji Ozawa in Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and for the BBC Proms she performed Haydn’s The Seasons under Roger Norrington. Sally Matthews is also a familiar performer in the field of contemporary music: She sang the title heroine in the world premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland at the Munich Opera Festival, and she has also premiered a new work by Mark-Anthony Turnage at London’s Wigmore Hall. Sally Matthews is moreover a sought-after recitalist and interpreter of the art song. She recently appeared in recital at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Significant performances in the past year have included Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmélites at the Theater an der Wien and The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky at Covent Garden.  

2009