Artist of the Week: Matthew Polenzani

American Tenor Takes on His First Don Carlos in Historic Metropolitan Opera Production

By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Ken Howard / Met Opera)

On Feb. 28 the Metropolitan Opera will premiere the French version of Verdi’s “Don Carlos.” Over the course of the Met’s history, the company has presented the Verdi masterwork 217 times in various different iterations. This year the Met has lined up a star cast that includes Matthew Polenzani, one of the great tenors of his generations and Met stalwart.

Polenzani made his Met debut in 1997 in a production of “Boris Godunov” and slowly rose to prominence with the company performing a wide array of repertoire including Mozart, Donizetti, Wagner, John Harbison, Beethoven, Rossini, Janácek, Berlioz, Strauss, and many more. He has also sung Verdi roles including a new production of “La Traviata,” “Macbeth,” and “Rigoletto.” However, this new Verdi role is his biggest to date and the first time he headlines a new production on his own. With this new role, the tenor will demonstrate his Bel Canto expertise with that elegant French phrasing he has shown in previous Met productions.

He will also reunite with Sonya Yoncheva, with whom he has performed on several occasions in such works as “La Traviata,” “Rigoletto,” and “Iolanta.”

For those not in New York for the event, the Met will showcase the performance live in HD. Polenzani is also set to perform “Don Carlo” at the Hungarian State Opera, “Tosca” at the Savonlinna Festival, and “La Traviata” at the Canadian Opera Company.

Recordings 

Polenzani has a wide discography that includes recordings of “La Favorite” from Munich, “Der Rosenkavalier,” “The Pearl Fishers,” “Maria Stuarda,” and Don Pasquale” from the Metropolitan Opera, among others.

Here are excerpts from “Don Carlos.”

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