Matthew Anchel

Bass

Matthew Anchel makes his OSJ debut singing the role of Ferrando in Il trovatore.  Roles performed recently includ Saretski (Eugene Onegin) with Oper Leipzig, Alaska Wolf Joe (The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny), Marchese d’Obigny (La traviata), Harasta (The Cunning Little Vixen), and The Police Inspector (Der Rosenkavalier). During the 2010-2011 season, Mr. Anchel sang with LA Opera as a member of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program, where he performed the roles of Count Ceprano (Rigoletto) and 4th Noble (Lohengrin), both under the baton of James Conlon.

On the concert stage, Mr. Anchel joined the LA Phil at Disney Concert Hall performing in the world premiere of The Importance of Being Ernest as Dr. Chasuble and was called “engagingly funny and mind-bogglingly virtuosic” by the LA Times. While in Los Angeles, he also sang the Bass solo in the Verdi Requiem with the Chorale Bel Canto.

Other recent engagements include his debut as the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with the Intermezzo Opera Festival in Brugge, Belgium.  He continued by making role and company debuts: Balthazar (Amahl and the Night Visitors) with Chelsea Opera, Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), and Sparafucile (Rigoletto) with New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Enrico VIII (Anna Bolena) with dell’arte Opera Ensemble, and Famigliare in Maria di Rohan and covering Oroveso (Norma) with The Caramoor Music Festival.

Mr. Anchel is a recipient of many awards, including 3rd Place in the Palm Beach Opera Competition, an Encouragement Award from Opera Index, an Encouragement Award from the George London Foundation, a Loren L. Zachary Competition Finalist and Encouragement Award Winner, and 2009 New England Region Finalist (Boston District Winner) and a 2010 Western Region Finalist (Los Angeles District Winner) of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Mr. Anchel was born and raised in New York City, where he first attended the famed LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, and later attended Manhattan School of Music where he began studying with his current teacher, Patricia McCaffrey.