Elisabete Matos

• Soprano

Biography

Elisabete Matos has performed the roles of Donna Elvira from Don Giovanni at the Hamburg Staatsoper, Lisbon Teatro de São Carlos, Las Palmas and Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria; Chimène in Jules Massenet’s Le Cid at the Maestranza de Sevilla and Washington Opera; Alice Ford (Falstaff) at the Hamburg Staatsoper; the leading role in Antón García Abril’s Divinas Palabras at the reopening of Madrid’s Teatro Real, next to Placido Domingo; Dolly alongside José Carreras on a new production of Wolf-Ferrari’s Sly with the Washington Opera, Nice and Tokio, a role she would also perform with Mr. Domingo at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; the title role in Margarita la Tornera in Madrid’s Teatro Real, once more with Mr. Domingo; Elsa in Lohengrin on her debut with the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Mimì in La Bohème in Lisbon’s Teatro de São Carlos and Oporto; La Voix Humaine in Seville’s Maestranza; Zazà in Turin’s Teatro Regio and Opéra de Nice; Elisabetta in a new production of Don Carlo in Madrid’s Teatro Real and Palermo, Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro Massimo Bellini, in Catania and Teatro Real de Madrid; Freia in Rheingold in Turin, Festival de las Palmas and Liceu; the title role in Suor Angelica at Valencia’s Palau de les Arts; the leading female rol in Tosca in Cyprus (with the Arena di Verona), Venice’s La Fenice, Oporto, Bellini di Catania, Messina, Tokio, Sao Carlos de Lisboa, Maestranza de Sevilla and at Macerata’s Festival, La Vida Breve in Lisbon’s Teatro de São Carlos; Lisa, from Battaglia di Legnano in Massimo Bellini de Catania; Sieglinde in Die Walküre at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon and Liceu in Barcelona; Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer at Naples’ Teatro de San Carlo, Maestranza de Sevilla and Teatro Real de Madrid; Katia Kabanova and Els Pirineus at Barcelona’s Liceu; Madame Lidoine in Les Dialogues des Carmelites in her debut at Milan’s La Scala (conducted by Riccardo Muti); the title role of Tomás Bretón La Dolores in Madrid’s Teatro Real; Gutrune in Götterdämerung at Barcelona’s Liceu and at Palau de les Arts de Valencia (conducted by Zubin Metha); Rosa in Gaudí at Barcelona’s Liceu; Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera in Naples and Bari; Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana in Naples and Lisbon; Nabucco’s Abigaille in Toulon; the title role in Norma at the Merida’s Classical Festival and in Jerez de la Frontera; Elisabeth in Tannhäuser at Barcelona’s Liceu, the title role in Ifigénie en Tauride at Teatro Campoamor de Oviedo and Liceu de Barcelona, Gioconda in Tokio, Turandot at Antwerp, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Palau de les Arts (conducted by Lorin Maazel), Les Troyens (Casandra) also in Palau de les Arts de Valencia (conducted by Valery Gergiev) and Lady Macbeth at Opera National du Rhin.

Recently, Elisabete Matos has debuted Isolda (Tristan and Isolda) at Campoamor de Oviedo, and after her huge success as Minnie (Fanciulla del West) at Metropolitan Opera House, she will return on November for Nabucco’s Abigaille. Next engagements also include Isabel de Valois (Don Carlo) at Sao Carlos de Lisbon, Lady Macbeth at Salzburg Festival with Riccardo muti, Rienzi at New York and Liceu, Giocconda at Rome, Nabucco at Viena and Senta (Der Fliegender Holländer) at Los Angeles with Conlon.

Ms. Matos is also a frequent guest of various concert halls. Her concert repertory goes from Bach to contemporary music, including lieder and symphony. She was recently invited to perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Cagliari (conducted by Lorin Maazel) and Madrid (conducted by López Cobos), Manuel de Falla’s El Sombrero de Tres Picos with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Baremboim, Wagner’s Wesendonk Lieder and a concert complete with Mozart arias with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra. She’s also a frequent guest of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Teatro de São Carlos, both in Lisbon, where she starred next to José Cura on a gala performance.

Her recordings include von Suppé’s Requiem with the Gulbenkian Foundation Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Michel Corboz (Virgin Classics), as well as the title role in La Dolores for Decca (with Placido Domingo), for which she was awarded a Grammy in 2000. Ms. Matos has also recorded the title role in Chapí’s Margarita la Tornera, also with Placido Domingo (RTVE label), and El Sombrero de Tres Picos with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Baremboim and Les Troyens conducted by Valeri Gergiev. In March 2001, she was one of the singers chosen by conductor Zubin Mehta to perform at the concert given on the 100th anniversary of Verdi’s passing away.