Baritone Matthew Hanscom is on the rise to great success, possessing a rich voice with an exciting, visceral top register and clean musicality which make him the perfect candidate for Cavalier Baritone repertoire.
Mr. Hanscom’s engagements for the 2011/12 season include a return to Sarasota Opera to cover Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. In 2010/11 he performed the role of Schaunard in Sarasota Opera’s production of La Bohème where he also covered John Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis he was seen as the Corporal in Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment as well as covering Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.
Matthew Hanscom’s recent engagements include performances of Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera on the Go! with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly for Santa Fe Opera where he also covered Sid in Albert Herring. As a young artist he sang Marcello in scenes from La Bohème at Santa Fe, Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte at Merola, and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Central City Opera. At Wolf Trap Opera he sang Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Schaunard in La Bohème conducted by Stephen Lord, and Anfinomo in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. At Sarasota Opera he covered the roles of Germont in La Traviata, Scarpia in Tosca, and Rodrigue in Verdi’s Don Carlos.
Mr. Hanscom has enjoyed success at the highest levels of national and international competition. He was a finalist in the Neue Stimmen Singing Competition in Gütersloh, Germany. He is a former semi-finalist in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition as well as a former national semi-finalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. He was a finalist in Chicago’s Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Competition. At the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions he was a district winner in consecutive years, followed by a national semi-final placement that was captured in the documentary film “The Audition”.
Matthew Hanscom is an alumnus of many of the premier training programs such as the Wolf Trap Opera’s Filene Young Artist Program, the Santa Fe Opera, the Merola Opera Program, Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ Gerdine Young Artist Program, Chicago Opera Theater, Sarasota Opera Studio, and Central City Opera.
“Vedrò mentr’io sospiro” from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (2011)
“Decidi il mio destin” from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (2011)
Adams |
Leoncavallo |
“Marcello, a painter, Schaunard, a musician (Matthew Hanscom), and Colline, a philosopher made for a well matched assemblage of singing actors, each with an excellent voice and each drawing his character with well-defined and touching humanity.”
June LeBell, SARASOTA OBSERVER(2011)
“Matthew Hanscom was a workmanlike Schaunard.”
Lawrence A. Johnson, THE CLASSICAL REVIEW (2011)
“French frat boys Marcello, Schaunard (Matthew Hanscom), and Colline were rich musically.”
Richard Storm, TAMPA HERALD TRIBUNE(2011)
“Both Keith Jameson as Goro and Matthew Hanscom as Yamadori gave finely studied cameos of Western ways in an Asian World.”
Simon Williams, OPERA NEWS (2010)
“Matthew Hanscom’s elegant but slimy suitor, Prince Yamadori, could never convince even a more practical and compliant butterfly to go with the flow.”
Rodney Punt, HUFFINGTON POST (2010)
“Prince Yamadori was not portrayed as a clown, as it often is, but given quite some dignity by Matthew Hanscom.”
THE OPERA INSIDER(2010)
“Matthew Hanscom a fine Yamadori.”
Lawrence A. Johnson, THE CLASSICAL REVIEW(2010)
“Matthew Hanscom’s (Guglielmo) warm tones and vivid phrasing left a telling mark.”
Tim Smith, OPERA NEWS (2009)
