Met Debuts Left This Season
Posts haven’t been as frequent as I’d like, so here comes an extra one! The Met’s 2023-24 season is coming to an end in just over six weeks, but there are still some artists readying to make their debuts. These are the two sopranos and a conductor that Met audiences will meet very soon.
Diego Matheuz (Carmen, April 25)
Diego Matheuz
Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Matheuz is a graduate of El Sistema (The System), Venezuela’s premium music education program, and is now the principal conductor of the El Sistema-run Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Although not yet 40, he has also been the principal conductor at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and principal guest conductor of the Orchestra Mozart Bologna and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Matheuz’s greatest asset is his ability to highlight but balance many different sections of the orchestra to create a distinct and colorful musical picture. He will lead the second run of Carrie Cracknell’s new production of Bizet’s Carmen, starring Clémentine Margaine, Michael Fabiano, and fellow Latina Ailyn Pérez. Matheuz was to have made his debut in the 2020-21 season, which, as we all know by now, was sadly scrapped due to COVID. This season has been much more favorable.
Carmen runs from April 25 to May 25.
Asmik Grigorian (Madama Butterfly, April 26)
Asmik Grigorian
Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian is one of those rare opera singers who does more than just sing, but immerses herself in her roles. I believe the common term is “singing actress.” She isn’t, however, all acting chops; she has a stunning voice and wields it stunningly. To illustrate, the first time I heard her was in March, during the Met’s cinema encore of Roméo et Juliette. When intermission came, a clip of Grigorian in Madama Butterfly was shown. Just before it started, I leaned over to my mother and explained that she was supposed to be like [unnamed singer] in stage intensity, but that I hoped Grigorian sang better. Then she started singing. It was a full 10 seconds before I said, “She’s good.”
After helping found the Vilnius City Opera in 2006, Grigorian has sung at nearly every single major opera house around the world, with the glaring exception of the Met. This will be remedied this month when she stars in Madama Butterfly, which will be shown live in global movie theaters on May 11.
Madama Butterfly runs from April 26 to May 11.
Elena Villalón (Orfeo ed Euridice, May 16)
Elena Villalón
Cuban-American Elena Villalón looks to be headed to an illustrious international career. She won the Met Opera’s Laffont Competition in 2019, back when it was called the National Councils, and snagged third prize at Operalia last year. She possesses a beautiful, flexible soprano voice that lends itself excellently to baroque music; she sang in three Handel works between February and June of 2023 alone, but her repertoire also includes the music of such varied composers as Gounod, Mozart, and Thomas.
I can’t quite pin down her timbre based only on a few YouTube clips, so her Met debut should afford more clarity. She’ll sing Amore (Cupid) in Glück’s Orfeo ed Euridice, one of the countless adaptations of the popular Orpheus myth but one of the very few with a happy ending, thanks to Amore.
