Known for their “sonorous baritone” (Broad Street Review) and “commanding stage presence," (Miami Herald) Philadelphia native Matthew Maisano (they/them) enjoys performing a diverse vocal repertoire ranging from classical and opera to musical theatre, American standards, pop, and beyond. Matthew is thrilled to join Portland Opera this 2024-2025 season as one of five resident artists! You can see them as the Baritone Soloist in Elvis Costello’s The Juliet Letters, Horace Derwent/Jack Torrance (cover) in Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s The Shining, and Pistola/Ford (Cover) in Verdi’s Falstaff. They will also appear as a soloist in various concerts, recitals, and a fully staged opera scenes program!

This summer, Matthew returned to Hogfish (Portland, ME) to sing the roles of Director & Gendarme in a new queer adaptation of Poulenc/Apollinaire's Les mamelles de Tirésias. This inventive new production is self-described as a, "part musical, part opera, part immersive, feminist, surrealist, gender expansive romp." Matthew first appeared with Hogfish in 2022 for their inaugural season singing Woodland Spirit/Thomas (cover) in Gluck’s little known treasure, L'arbre Enchanté. 

At the beginning of 2023, Matthew returned to the Baltimore/DC based art song recital series, Baltimore Musicales to sing Ravel’s Cinq mélodies populaires grecques in a program entitled, Songs of Solace, "exploring ways in which we find solace—in nature, in the divine, and in our relationships with those we love." This recital was a reprise of the same program (back by popular demand) from BM's previous season! Matthew first appeared with BM in February 2022, singing art songs by Barber, Hahn, Saint-Saëns, and Schubert in Love is in the Air, a Valentine’s Musicale. Next, Matthew made their solo debut in April 2023 with Opera Philadelphia singing "The Sergeant" in Yuval Sharon's critically acclaimed "reverse" retelling of Puccini’s La Bohème. During Opera Philly's fall O23 Festival, Matthew also appeared in a solo act (as their drag persona, Balena Canto) in Late Night Snacks, "A mixed-plate performance that’s 50% cabaret destination, 50% neighborhood jawn, and 100% good to the last bite." This month-long cabaret series was a co-production between Opera Philadelphia, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, and The Philly Fringe Festival! Matthew spent two weeks in July 2023 singing throughout France's Loire-Valley with Opera-Cation! Along with a cohort of four other singers, Matthew performed in concerts at several churches and other performance venues throughout the picturesque farm-lands of The Nouvelle-Aquitaine.  Opera-Cation's mission is to foster community and a shared love of music between American singers and the people of rural France. Ending 2023 (like many classical vocalists), Matthew was the bass soloist in Handel's Messiah at the historic Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Bryn Athyn, PA!

 

Additional opera/theater highlights include: The Title Role in Eugene Onegin (Russian Opera Workshop), Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Wilmington Concert Opera & Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theater), Pandolfe in Cendrillon (Miami Music Festival), Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum & Schaunard (cover) in La Bohème  (Natchez Festival of Music), Morbio in Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau, Baptista in Kiss Me, Kate! & Escamillo (cover) in Carmen the Gypsy (Pittsburgh Festival Opera), Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Three Oaks Opera, Children's Opera Box, & Delaware Valley Opera Company), The Strong Man in Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing (Penn Square Opera), Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief & First Stepsister in Warren Martin's The True Story of Cinderella (Opera Tutti!),  Melissa in a queer retelling of Handel's Alcina entitled, Alcina REVAMPED (Alter Ego Chamber Opera/Philly Fringe Festival), The Witch in Hansel and Gretel (Opera on Tap: Philadelphia), Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Albert in Werther, and Marco in Gianni Schicchi (Temple University Opera Theater).

Additional concert highlights include: Leporello in scenes from Don Giovanni and Schlendrian in scenes from Bach's Coffee Cantata (Lancaster Symphony), Bass Soloist in Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Coronation Mass (Vox Ama Deus Ensemble), Baritone Soloist in selections from Copland's Old American Songs (The Rose Tree Pops Orchestra), Bass Soloist in Schubert's Mass in G (Chapelle St. Louis de Donzague), Siméon in L'enfant prodigue, Bass Soloist in Bach's Cantata 140, Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore & Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, (Trinity Church Swarthmore), Bass Soloist in Haydn's Missa in Angustiis (Fairmount Presbyterian Church), Bass soloist in Bach’s Cantata 58, Bruhn’s De Profundis, and Merula’s Credidi (Case Western Reserve University’s Baroque Chamber Ensemble). 

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A lover of art song, Matthew has given and performed in numerous song recitals over the years.  A winner of Montpelier Arts Center's 2022/2023 Classical Recital Competition, Matthew presented a program of vocal music by

De Falla, Ravel, Respighi, and Vaughan Williams. In May 2016, Matthew was invited to perform as a young artist in Cleveland Ohio's nationally acclaimed Art Song Festival, where they participated in four days of Masterclasses with world-renowned singers and pianists. The festival culminated in a grand recital featuring all festival artists. During their thirteen year tenure as bass section leader & soloist at Trinity Church Swarthmore, Matthew performed in over a dozen song recitals (often focusing on German lied and French mélodie). 

Matthew is a co-founder of Prismatic Arts Ensemble, a new Philadelphia-based performing arts collective dedicated to shifting the way audiences encounter classical music—through bold programming, immersive theatre, and fearless storytelling! They are committed to featuring the works of underrepresented artists- Black, Indigenous, and other Artists of Color; womxn; artists in the LGBTQIA+ community- as well as to cultivating a creative environment where artists and audience members alike can be fully present as their authentic selves. This August, Prismatic premiered their first full scale production, Romeo💜Juliet: An Immersive Opera Experience! Inspired by Philly’s vibrant queer history and culture, this exciting adaptation of Gounod's opera & Shakespeare's play transforms the two feuding families into rival night club owners. In this updated version, Matthew originated the role of “Drag Queen Host/Narrator” guiding the audience through the action and infusing the piece with abundant humor.

Matthew has a vibrant and active 5+ year career as drag artist, Balena Canto (Philadelphia's seductive song-wielding siren with a voice snatched for the gods)! Balena performs extensively throughout Greater Philadelphia, the tri-state area, and beyond! Nothing makes her more happy than combining her two greatest loves—drag and opera! 

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Matthew is a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music (Master of Music in Vocal Performance) and Temple University's Boyer College of Music & Dance (Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance).