Bio
Baritone and Philadelphia native, Matthew Maisano (they/them) enjoys performing a variety of repertoire both classical and popular. Known for their “sonorous baritone” (Broad Street Review) and “commanding stage presence," (Miami Herald), Matthew has sung with many local and regional opera companies. Most recently, Matthew joined the Hogfish Festival in Cape Elizabeth, ME for their inaugural production of Gluck's L'arbre enchanté as a wood sprite and as cover for Thomas.
Other recent operatic engagements include, appearing as a soloist in Lancaster Symphony's Neighborhood Concert Series singing Leporello in scenes from Mozart's Don Giovanni and Schlendrian in scenes from Bach's Coffee Cantata under the baton of Chelsea Gallo. This past December, Matthew sang their fourth Melchior in Menotti's beloved classic, Amahl and the Night Visitors with Three Oaks Opera conducted by Opera Philadelphia's Liz Braden. Last September, Matthew made their debut with Alter Ego Chamber Opera as Melissa in a queer retelling of Handel's Alcina entitled, Alcina REVAMPED as part of the Philly Fringe Festival!
Additional 2021-2022 highlights include a joint operatic cabaret curated with soprano Rachel Sigman entitled, A Light in the Dark: A Holiday Cabaret of classical and popular music as a part of Multicultural Arts Exhange's Musika Series at the historic Glen Foerd Mansion. In February, Matthew returned to A1-Entertainment in an all Johnny Mathis program along side pianist Eric Smrcka at the Timbers in Mt. Gretna, PA for Larry McKenna's Cabaret at the Timbers series. Matthew also performed in a number of concerts with Opera on Tap: Philadelphia and Trinity Swarthmore.
Matthew begins the 2022-2023 season this October returning to Baltimore Musicales as a soloist in The Sound of Solace — a stunning program of songs and spirituals exploring the ways in which we find solace. Matthew will perform Ravel's Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques with pianist, Patti Amato. This past February, Matthew debuted with Baltimore Musicales in Love is in the Air singing love songs by Schubert, Barber, Hahn, Fauré, and Bizet. As a winner for their 2022/2023 Classical Recital Competition, Matthew will present an art song recital (program TBA) at the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD!
Matthew returns to Opera Philadelphia in February 2023 to sing in the chorus of Orff's Carmina Burana as well as in the chorus of Puccini's La Bohemè in April 2023. This past January, Matthew appeared in his 3rd production with Opera Philadelphia in the chorus of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. In May 2023, Matthew returns to Lancaster's Penn Square Music Festival singing the role of Sacristan in Puccini's greatest drama, Tosca. Matthew made their debut with PSMF back in 2019 singing Strong Man in Fox's Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing.
Matthew's other operatic highlights include, The Title Role in Eugene Onegin (Russian Opera Workshop), Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro (Wilmington Concert Opera and Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theater), Pandolfe in Cendrillon
(Miami Music Festival), Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Natchez Festival of Music), Morbio in Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau, Baptista in Kiss Me, Kate! (Pittsburgh Festival Opera), Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief and First Stepsister in Martin's The True Story of Cinderella (Opera Tutti), Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus and Albert in Werther (Temple University Opera Theater), The Witch in Hansel and Gretel (Opera on Tap: Philadelphia), Antonio in The Gondoliers (Greensboro Light Opera & Song), and in the chorus of Prokoviev's The Love For Three Oranges, and Verdi's Requiem (Opera Philadelphia).
A performer of concert and sacred works, Matthew traveled to Haiti in January 2019 to perform in a collaborative concert with Trinity Episcopal Church (Swarthmore, PA), The Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and The Institution St. Louis de Gonzague (Port-au-Prince, Haiti). The concert included many sacred and Haitian choral works as well as Schubert’s Mass in G, in which Matthew was the baritone soloist. Matthew made their Kimmel Center solo debut in November, 2018 singing the bass solos in Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Philadelphia’s VoxAmaDeus Ensemble. In 2017, Matthew sang Siméon in Debussy's L'enfant prodigue with Trinity Episcopal Church (Swarthmore, PA). They were also the baritone soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass at Fairmount Presbyterian Church (Cleveland Heights, OH), Bach's Cantata 140, Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, and Schubert’s Mass in G and Mass in C at Trinity. During their time in Cleveland, Matthew performed with Case Western Reserve University’s Baroque Chamber Ensemble, Baroque Orchestra, and Collegium as a baritone soloist in Bach’s Cantata 58, Bruhn’s De Profundis, and Merula’s Credidi. They also frequently appear with The Rose Tree Pops Orchestra of Media, PA singing musical theater, American Song Book classics, and even larger classic works like Copland's Folk Song Arrangements for voice and orchestra!
An avid recitalist, Matthew is now in their second year performing with Baltimore Musicales! In 2016, Matthew participated in Cleveland's famous Art Song Festival singing in a number of masterclasses and recitals. In 2013, Matthew collaborated with mezzo-soprano Anna Saurman to create and perform a program entitled Unsex me Here: A Recital Challenging Gender in Art Song performed at Temple University. That same year, he premiered The Broken Ground: Seven Poems of Wendell Berry, a song set composed by Ryan Carson at Cairn University. Matthew frequently gives recitals with soprano, Tracy Sturgis and pianist, James Smith at Trinity Episcopal Church (Swarthmore, PA) each year with programs of varied art song repertoire.
Matthew holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH) and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Temple University (Philadelphia. PA).
Audio - Opera
Daniel Foltz-Morrison, tenor & Matthew Maisano, baritone (Penn Square Music Festival, 2019)
Art Song
Musical Theater
Pop, Et Al.
Matthew singing with The Rose Tree Pops Orchestra
Video
Upcoming Events
Mondays! This month: November 14 & 28 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm (Matthew is taking October off): Opera Night at Fellini Cafe, Media RETURNS after a 2 year covid induced hiatus! Join our cast for an evening of opera/musical theater classics and some delicious Italian food! Call the restaurant for reservations!
Sunday, October 23rd @ 3:30 PM: Matthew returns to Baltimore Musicales for their 9th season opener, The Sound of Solace — a stunning program of songs and spirituals exploring the ways in which we find solace—in nature, in the divine, and in our relationships with those we love. Matthew perform Maurice Ravel's Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques.
Saturday, October 29 @ 5:00 PM: Matthew joins Opera on Tap Philadelphia and Historic Germantown for an exclusive, enchanted concert of classical vocal music in a historic cemetery! This haunted Halloween event is sure to thrill as we tell musical stories of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins.
Sunday, November 20th @ 3:00 PM: As a winner for their 2022/2023 Classical Recital Competition ,Matthew will present an art song recital (program TBA) at the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD! Click above for tickets!
May 19th & 21st: Matthew returns to Lancaster's Penn Square Music Festival singing the role of The Sacristan in Puccini's greatest drama, Tosca! More info including ticket links coming soon!
Past Events
August 26-28: Matthew is ecstatic to join the inaugural season of Hogfish Festival in their production of Gluck's L'Arbre Enchanté as a magical satyr and covering the role of Thomas. For info and tickets, please click the above image!
Sunday, June 12th @ 4 pm: An Afternoon of Romantic Music features the choir of Trinity Church Swarthmore and a fine array of solo singers in songs by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Fanny Henzel and Brahms. The highlight of the concert will be Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes for chorus and piano four-hands. Contributions will benefit the music fund at Trinity Swarthmore. The concert is both in-person and virtual streaming here!
Thursday, May 5th @ 7 pm Matthew makes his solo debut with the Lancaster Symphony singing Leporello in the Act II finale of Mozart's Don Giovani as well as Schlendrian in Bach's Coffee Cantata as part of LSO's Neighborhood Concert Series under the baton of Chelsea Gallo!
Friday APR 29 @ 7:30 PM: Join Matthew and the cast of Opera on Tap: Philadelia for "Go Fach Yourself - Again!" Ever wondered what a soprano aria sounds like when sung by a baritone? Or whether or not a mezzo can start as much✨drama✨ as those darn tenors? Now's your chance to find out! Come on down to Meyers Brewing to hear us get all "fached up."
3/25/22 @ 7:30 pm: Join Matthew and the cast of Opera on Tap: Philadelphia for Seeing Double: Duets and Then Song. A night out is more fun with friends! That's why this month we're focusing on duets, trios and then some! Stop by for your favorite Meyers DIPA and favorite opera ensembles! Don't take this show title literally; drink responsibly!
3/23/22 @ 10 pm: Matthew joins the cast of Gaybill for a night of showtune classics!
2/18/2022: Join Matthew and pianist Eric Smrcka as they perform songs from the Johnny Mathis Song Book! Click on the photo for details!
2/6 & 2/13/2022: Join Matthew as he makes his premiere with Baltimore Musicales as a soloist in Love is in the Air, a Valentines themed song recital! Plus, the 13th is Matthew's Birthday! Click the above photo for details and tickets!
1/21 & 1/23/2022: Matthew joins the Opera Philadelphia in the chorus for Stravinsky's Opera-Oratorio, Oedipus Rex at The Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall! Click photo for detals! Live Stream Recording Available for free here!
12/15/21: Matthew appears as Balena Canto along side soprano, Rachel Sigman and pianist, Kat Bowman, presenting a cabaret of classical and popular Holiday favorites at the historic Glen Foerd Mansion!
12/5/21: Matthew sings his 4th! Melchior in the Gian Carlo Menotti Holiday classic, Amahl and the Night Visitors presented by Three Oaks Opera under the baton of Opera Philadelphia's Liz Braden.
Reviews
The bass role of Melisso becomes Melissa—and in a further act of genderqueering, the part is essayed by Balena Canto, the drag persona of Matthew Maisano, a sonorous baritone...Canto/Maisano appears to be having a ball.
-Broad Street Review, Cameron Kelsall
"In this version Cinderella’s father Pandolfe has a large role. Matthew Maisano encompassed the serious and comic elements of the role superbly. Maisano’s dark baritone and commanding stage presence gave the role greater dimension. The tenderness of the scenes with his daughter proved one of the evening’s highlights. And his turn from harried, henpecked husband to finally standing up to his wife and Cinderella’s stepsisters, garnered approving l laughter from the audience."
-Miami Herald & South Florida Classical, Lawrence Budmen
"Aplauso especial, para Matthew Maisano como el Padre, el personaje de carácter en la obra,
que tuvo un hermoso dúo con DeLorenz./Special applause, for Matthew Maisano as the
Father, a person of character in the play, who had a beautiful duet with DeLorenz."
-el Nuevo Herald, Daniel Fernández
"The comic antics of Matthew Maisano (Morbio)...added greatly to the entertainment, both vocally and in appearance."
- Pittsburgh in the Round, George. B Parous
"Matthew Maisano made a physically imposing Count Almaviva."
-Cleveland Classical, Daniel Hathaway
Matthew Maisano joined Bergan in a duet from Massenet’s Manon...the performance of the duet was an unqualified winner...Maisano gave a forceful rendition of Count Almaviva’s aria from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
-West Lake West Bay Village Observer, Louise Seeholzer
"The aria by the Count, sung by Matthew Maisano, is a soliloquy of sorts about his concern of how he is viewed by his servants. An aria that Bamberger said has been labeled the “greatest psychological aria in opera.” Maisano conveyed well the deep emotion of the composer’s work."
-West Lake West Bay Village Observer, Louise Seeholzer
"Matthew Maisano made an impressive ROW debut. His voice is stentorian at full-throttle - he sings Puccini's Michele - yet he can hone it to delicate soft singing...Matthew deftly conveyed Onegin's eternal boredom, peppered with superciliousness, condescension, misogyny and general lack of empathy...Matthew, a tall man, sang Onegin's famous aria, 'Когда бы жизнь домашним кругом' with a compelling sense of bel canto line, all the while literally looking down on a cringing, cowering Tatyana, dramatically ratcheting up, thereby, the lass's humiliation...At Gremin's society cotillion, where Onegin rediscovers the newly minted
Tatyana, Matthew, animated by his character's reawakened passion, made the love -
struck arioso, 'Ужель та самая Татьяна' containing an ironic reprise of the principal Letter
Scene melody, a vocal high point of the evening."
-Lew's Opera Views and Experiences in Tempo (Internet Blog), Lew Loesberg
News
Matthew sits down with Voyage Baltimore Magazine to discuss their life and career as an classical singer and a drag artist! Click the above image to read this exciting interview!
12/2021: LA based designer and opera diva, Suzanne
Vinnik introduces the "Maisano" print (named after yours truly) to her stunning clothing line, by vinnik! Purchase your very own "Maisano" print before they sell out! Just click the above photos!
12/27/2021: A clip from my interview with The Empowered Musician where I talk about being able to fulfill my queer opera dreams this past summer as Melissa in Alter Ego Chamber Opera's unique and stunning production of Alcina REVAMPED! Thank you so much for the feature!
11/05/2020: Soprano and Host of Fermata Fashion, Rachel Sigman sits down with opera singer and drag performer Matthew Maisano aka Balena Canto as they discuss the intersecting worlds of opera and drag, inclusivity and growing up to be the person you were meant to be.
10/15/2018: Company Feature: Wilmington Concert Opera
Matthew appears in Modern Singer Magazine's featurette on Wilmington Concert Opera and their Fall 2018 production
of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro
05/2018: Matthew appears on LMTV's The Library Show to discuss his career in opera and classical music. The
segment begins at the 12:58 mark.
11/02/2015: "The Making of Figaro" Episode 8: Recitative
Matthew appears in the Cleveland Institute of Music's online docuseries about the institute's fall 2015 production of
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro
10/20/2015: "The Making of Figaro" Episode 2: Meet the Cast
Matthew appears in the Cleveland Institute of Music's online docuseries about the institute's fall 2015 production of
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
