Winner of The American Prize for Women in Art Song (2023), American mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava commands the stage with a voice that seamlessly traverses opera, oratorio, and song. Her versatility in opera is showcased in roles such as Nelda in Kamala Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents at The Glimmerglass Festival and Zita in Gianni Schicchi at Festival Napa Valley with conductor Kent Nagano. Other operatic credits include the title roles in Cendrillon and Dido and Aeneas, Charlotte (Werther), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and Nancy (Albert Herring).
Matava’s dynamic vocal artistry also extends to competitions. A Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she won 1st Prize in the 2022 NATS Artist Awards Texoma Regional, 3rd Prize in the 2020 National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and was named winner of The American Prize for Women in Opera (2021).
As a concert soloist, Matava’s has been heard in performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces. In 2014, she performed in Berio’s Coro at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. She has sung with the Tanglewood Music Center, Lucerne Festival Academy, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Saratoga, Crested Butte Music Festival, Opera San Antonio, Alamo City Opera, Victoria Bach Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Hudson Valley BachFe ... view more »
Winner of The American Prize for Women in Art Song (2023), American mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava commands the stage with a voice that seamlessly traverses opera, oratorio, and song. Her versatility in opera is showcased in roles such as Nelda in Kamala Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents at The Glimmerglass Festival and Zita in Gianni Schicchi at Festival Napa Valley with conductor Kent Nagano. Other operatic credits include the title roles in Cendrillon and Dido and Aeneas, Charlotte (Werther), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and Nancy (Albert Herring).
Matava’s dynamic vocal artistry also extends to competitions. A Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she won 1st Prize in the 2022 NATS Artist Awards Texoma Regional, 3rd Prize in the 2020 National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and was named winner of The American Prize for Women in Opera (2021).
As a concert soloist, Matava’s has been heard in performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces. In 2014, she performed in Berio’s Coro at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. She has sung with the Tanglewood Music Center, Lucerne Festival Academy, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Saratoga, Crested Butte Music Festival, Opera San Antonio, Alamo City Opera, Victoria Bach Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Hudson Valley BachFest.
Matava’s inventive programming and expressive storytelling make her an exceptional song interpreter. Along with her duo partner, organist and pianist Samuel Gaskin, she has crafted a variety of themed recitals, including Short Stories, which contrasts traditional and modern songs, and Sacred Song, a program of music for voice and organ that celebrates world religions. In 2024, she was a vocal fellow at the inaugural Fellowship of the Song program with Cincinnati Song Initiative.
A native of Farmington, Connecticut, Matava holds degrees in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Vassar College. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Music at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
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