KENNETH MATTICE

Award-winning lyric baritone, Kenneth Mattice, is earning praise for his compelling singing and expressive acting. He has recently been called ‘outstanding’ by the Chicago Tribune and ‘charismatic and robust-toned’ by the San Francisco Chronicle.  A Wisconsin native and former Resident Artist with Opera San José, Mr. Mattice received rave reviews for his recent debuts as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.  Other roles include Escamillo in Carmen at the Ravinia Festival, Schaunard in La Bohème with Baltimore Opera, Guglielmo in Così fan Tutte with Shreveport Opera, Malatesta in Don Pasquale with the Newton Symphony (Boston) and the title role in Don Giovanni for the Opera Institute at Boston University.

As Figaro, the San Francisco Chronicle described Mr. Mattice as “charismatic and robust-toned.  Mattice roamed the stage nimbly and rattled through 'Largo al factotum' with aplomb.”  Keith Kreitman of the Oakland Tribune said, “(Mattice) gives meaning to the name Mercutio.”  The San José Mercury News added, “…Not only a confident singer with rounded, bell-like projection, but also an exciting actor who kept raising the energy level on stage.”  Using his knowledge of fencing and stage combat, “his fights with the Montagues were nasty stuff.”

As Enrico, Michael J. Vaughn of TheOperaCritic.com wrote, “Mattice plays the part with his usual power, but lends our disastrous matchmaker occasional vulnerabilities - hints of softer feelings for his sister that lend him a human complexity.” Another said he “sang with muscular authority” and “plenty of robust tone.”  In his run of Papageno with Opera San José, the San Francisco Classical Voice hailed that, “Kenneth Mattice’s Papageno was charming and animated… a well-grounded baritone voice.  His comedic timing and physical comedy was spot-on and got unanimous laughs out of the audience.”  Mattice was “a talented and athletic comic. He was in excellent voice and proved able to sing in any number of positions.”

In 2006, Mr. Mattice returned to Baltimore Opera as a principle artist (Schaunard, La Bohème) after being a studio artist in 2005.  As a studio artist he sang Belcore (L'Elisir d'Amore) and Silvio (I Pagliacci) in studio productions and Antonio (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Hermann (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) for the mainstage.   He has also performed with Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Idaho, Chautauqua Opera, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Opera Theater North and Quad Cities Opera.  Additional credits include Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Ford (Falstaff), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Count Robinson (The Secret Marriage), Frank (Die Fledermaus), Germont (La Traviata), Sam (Trouble in Tahiti) and the title role in Gianni Schicchi, among others.

Mr. Mattice was recently a semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, New England Region and a national finalist in the Liederkranz Competition.  He was also a winner in the Palm Beach Opera Competition, the Bel Canto Italian Opera Competition, the Friends of Austria Competition, the Quad Cities Opera Competition and was awarded a Chautauqua Studio Artist Award.

Mr. Mattice is a Wisconsin native and has studied at Boston University’s Opera Institute, Northwestern University and Luther College.

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SoBe Institute of the Arts 2011/2012 season is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council and the City of Miami Beach, as well as private foundations and individual donors.  Series sponsors and individual matching contributions help us to keep our events free or low cost to all.  Please consider sponsoring one or more events or making a tax deductible donation to SoBe Institute of the Arts, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit arts education and performance organization. For more information contact (305) 674-9220.

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