Matthew Polenzani

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Matthew Polenzani is an American lyric tenor. One of the most gifted and distinguished lyric tenors of his generation, Matthew Polenzani has been praised for his artistic versatility and fresh lyricism, which he brings to concert and operatic appearances on leading international stages.

Recognized as a 2004 Richard Tucker Award winner, Mr. Polenzani performs with the Metropolitan Opera during the 2006-2007 season as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Tamino both in Die Zauberflöte as well as in the company's abridged holiday entertainment presentation of The Magic Flute. He bows in the title role of Roméo et Juliette at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, returns to Maggio Musicale Fiorentino to sing Achille in Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide under the baton of Riccardo Muti, and, in concert performances, joins James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Fidelio as well as Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra in Der Rosenkavalier. The season also marks a number of very important opera house debuts: Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Opéra Bastille, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the Vienna Staatsoper, and Ferrando in Così fan tutte at the Royal Opera House, at Covent Garden under the baton of Sir Colin Davis.

During the 2005-2006 season he appeared with the Metropolitan Opera as Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Fenton in Falstaff, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, under the batons of James Levine and Sir Andrew Davis. Other return engagements included Alfredo in La Traviata at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze, and Don Giovanni with Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra della Santa Cecilia. On the concert stage he returned to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for performances of Berlioz's Requiem with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and presented Janáček's The Diary of One Who Vanished at Zankel Hall with pianist Richard Goode. Summer festival appearances included performances of Gurrelieder and Don Giovanni with James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Leonard Slatkin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and Mozart's Coronation Mass with Louis Langrée at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival.

Among the many highlights from recent Metropolitan Opera seasons were the premieres of Julie Taymor's production of Die Zauberflöte, Francesca Zambello's production of Les Troyens, both with Levine, Marthe Keller's production of Don Giovanni with Sir Andrew Davis, Jürgen Flimm's production of Salome with Valery Gergiev, as well as revivals of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He also has bowed in L'elisir d'amore at the Teatro San Carlo and Rome Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper, Il Turco in Italia for the Rossini Festival of Pesaro, La Traviata at the Aix en Provence Festival, Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Lakmé and Roméo et Juliette with Opéra de Bordeaux, and in concert performances of Rigoletto with Daniel Oren and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He has has also appeared as a guest artist at the Petroushka Ball.

Mr. Polenzani has been acclaimed in symphonic appearances with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Orchestra della Santa Cecilia, James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony, Sir Jeffrey Tate and the Minnesota Orchestra, and David Zinman and the Aspen Festival Orchestra, among others. In a single recent season he was honored to appear on all three stages of Carnegie Hall with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Zankel Hall, a solo recital with pianist James Levine at Weill Recital Hall, and in a Schubert Liederabend on the stage of Isaac Stern Auditorium.