+++
date = "2015-09-29T19:15:00-04:00"
discipline = "Tenor"
lastmod = "2017-09-10T11:53:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1716563518/MatthewPolenzani-FayFox.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Fay Fox"
publishDate = "2015-09-29T19:17:00-04:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/the-metropolitan-opera.md","scene/companies/teatro-alla-scala.md","scene/companies/lyric-opera-of-chicago.md","scene/companies/bayerische-staatsoper.md","scene/companies/wiener-staatsoper.md","scene/companies/gran-teatre-del-liceu.md","scene/companies/opra-national-de-paris.md","scene/companies/san-francisco-opera.md","scene/companies/los-angeles-opera.md","scene/companies/seattle-opera.md", "scene/companies/canadian-opera-company.md"]
slug = "matthew-polenzani"
title = "Matthew Polenzani"
website = "http://www.matthewpolenzani.com/"
[[social_media]]
platform = "Facebook"
template = "social-media"
url = "https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Polenzani/107698779259705?fref=ts"
+++

American tenor Matthew Polenzani is one of the most gifted and distinguished lyric tenors of his generation. His elegant musicianship, innate sense of style, dramatic commitment, and timeless artistry have established his continued presence at leading operatic, concert, and recital venues worldwide.

Matthew Polenzani begins his 2023-24 season starring as the title character in Mozart's _La clemenza di Tito_ at the Wiener Staatsoper before making his role debut as Orombello in Bellini's rarely performed _Beatrice di Tenda_ at Teatro di San Carlo.  He then returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in _La Bohème_ and makes another thrilling role debut as Florestan in _Fidelio_ at Staatsoper Hamburg. Later in the season, he reprises the role of Giasone in Sir David McVicar's production of _Medea_ at the Canadian Opera Company and appears as Pinkerton in Puccini's _Madama Butterfly_ at both the Met and Teatro Real de Madrid. On the concert platform, Mr. Polenzani joins the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus for Verdi's _Requiem_ led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additionally, he performs as the tenor soloist in Handel's _Messiah_ with the Chicago Symphony under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis.

During the 2022-23 season, Mr. Polenzani appeared at The Metropolitan Opera as Cavaradossi in _Tosca_ and Giasone in the company premiere of Cherubini's _Medea_. Following his successful role debut as Verdi's titular _Don Carlos_ the prior season, he performed the role in Italian at Teatro di San Carlo and later sang the title role of Massenet's _Werther_ at Houston Grand Opera. At Staatsoper Hamburg, he portrayed The Duke of Mantua in Verdi's _Rigoletto_ and Hoffmann in Offenbach's _Les Contes d'Hoffmann_. Additionally, he starred in a concert version of Massenet's _Hérodiade_ with Deutsche Oper Berlin, performed Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Utah Symphony, and joined tenors Michael Fabiano and Evan LeRoy Johnson for their "Three American Tenors" program with the Fort Worth Symphony, led by Robert Spano. Polenzani concluded his season with a return to two Mozartian roles that have become cornerstones in his career: _The Magic Flute_ at the Ravinia Festival and _Idomeneo_ at the Aspen Music Festival.

With the global re-opening of opera houses, the 2021-22 season saw Mr. Polenzani return to the Metropolitan Opera for Verdi's _Requiem_, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Additionally, he starred in three productions at the Met Opera: Mozart's _Die Zauberflöte_ (Tamino), Puccini's _La Bohème_ (Rodolfo), and the title role of _Don Carlos_, marking his role debut. New York Classical Review praised his performance, writing "this star tenor managed to combine pure beauty and sweetness with a sense of maturity and even heroism". Furthermore, the production was featured on PBS' Great Performances at The Met. Mr. Polenzani returned to the Opéra national de Paris as Nemorino in Donizetti's _L'Elisir d'amore_ and later made his debut at the Canadian Opera Company as Alfredo in Verdi's _La Traviata_. He also made his debut as Cavaradossi in Puccini's _Tosca_ at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and starred as Tito in Mozart's _La clemenza di Tito_ at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Conlon.

Career highlights from previous Metropolitan Opera seasons include the premieres of Bartlett Sher's production of _L'Elisir d'Amore_, which opened the 2012 season, Sir David McVicar's production of _Maria Stuarda_ (issued on DVD by Erato), as well as McVicar's new production of Donizetti's _Roberto Devereux_, which was featured on PBS' Great Performances at the Met. Further highlights include his role debut as Vaudémont in Tchaikovsky's _Iolanta_, Penny Woolcock's production of _Les Pêcheurs de Perles_ (issued on DVD by Erato), Willy Decker's production of _La Traviata_, Robert Carsen's production of _Der Rosenkavalier_ (issued on DVD by Decca), Julie Taymor's legendary staging of _Die Zauberflöte_ (DVD available from The Metropolitan Opera), and revivals of _Les Contes d'Hoffmann_, _Rigoletto_, _Don Pasquale_ (Deutsche Grammophon DVD release), _Don Giovanni_, _Roméo et Juliette_, _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_, _Così fan tutte_, _Falstaff_, _Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_ (DVD available from Deutsche Grammophon), and _L'Italiana in Algeri_. To date, he has starred in more than 300 performances at The Met.

Mr. Polenzani is continuously in demand for concert engagements with the world's most influential conductors, including James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Frizza, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Louis Langrée, Jesús López-Cobos, Riccardo Muti, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Michael Tilson Thomas, Franz Welser-Möst, David Zinman, Riccardo Chailly, and Daniel Harding. He frequently performs with premiere ensembles in the United States and Europe, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Orchestra del Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France, and the Münchner Philharmoniker.

In recital, Matthew Polenzani has appeared in numerous venues across America with pianist Julius Drake and at London's Wigmore Hall (available on CD from the Wigmore Hall label). He has also appeared with noted pianist Richard Goode in a presentation of Janáček's _The Diary of One Who Vanished_ at Carnegie's Zankel Hall and in recital at the Verbier Festival with pianist Roger Vignoles (commercially available on CD from VAI). Mr. Polenzani was honored to have sung on all three stages of Carnegie Hall in one season: in concert with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Zankel Hall, in a solo recital in Weill Hall, and a Schubert Liederabend on the stage of Isaac Stern Auditorium.

Matthew Polenzani was the recipient of the 2004 Richard Tucker Award, The Metropolitan Opera's 2008 Beverly Sills Artist Award, and a 2017 Opera News Award. An avid golfer, he makes his home in suburban New York with his wife, mezzo-soprano Rosa Maria Pascarella, and their three sons.