Mathew Edwardsen

Madama Butterfly Mathew Edwardsen hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and lived for many of his formative years near Springfield, Illinois. His musical journey began when his older brother inspired him to join the school choir in 7th grade and thus began the path to a lifelong love of singing.

In high school, Mathew started private vocal instruction and began performing in musicals, where he discovered an affinity for acting and starring on stage. He subsequently graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, receiving a well-rounded foundation in music, stage craft and dance. It was here that his unbridled passion for music turned towards opera!

Upon graduation, the Muses drew him to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor in television and film. During this period he performed in numerous stage productions, student films, including an appearance on the television game show "The Dating Game".

Fortunately fate intervened again, while taking a musical comedy class with the late Betty Garrett at Theatre West in Los Angeles. Betty facilitated his meeting vocal specialist Joann C. Zajac. She re-introduced him to opera and her instruction enabled him to develop a solid vocal technique, completing the delicate transition from baritone to tenor. From that point, Mathew's love for the operatic art form took flight.

The beginning of Mathew's operatic journey truly began when he performed as an apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera. There he took the stage in the role of the Captain, while covering Marcus Haddock in the principle tenor role of Gabrielle Adorno in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. This gave him the opportunity to work alongside such legendary opera stars as Patricia Racette and Mark Delevan. The following summer he was a Gerdine Young Artist, with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He received numerous awards, including being a finalist in 2008 and 2009's Irene Dalis vocal competition, twice being awarded in the Palm Springs Opera Guild competition and being both a Western Regional Finalist and New England District Encouragement Award winner, in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

In 2012, Mathew's year begins again at Sarasota, singing Roderigo and covering the title role in Verdi's Otello. He then goes west to revisit the role of Don José (Carmen) in California before bouncing back to the east coast to make his role and company debut as Ralph Rackstraw in Opera New Jersey's production of H.M.S. Pinafore

Last year also started in Sarasota, where he had role debuts as Arvino (I Lombardi alla prima crociata) and Judge Danforth (The Crucible). Following that were consecutive productions as Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in California and Florida and a return to the role of Alfredo (La traviata) for the Belleayre Music Festival in New York. Last year closed with a lavish production of Idomeneo with Opera San Jose where he performed the Gran Sacerdote.

The year prior saw many company and role debuts, starting with Sarasota Opera. There he covered Turiddu/Canio (Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci) and performed in their production of Die Zauberflöte. In April of 2010 he had his Tulsa Opera debut as Juan, in Massenet's Don Quichotte, and in May he returned to the role of Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), with internationally renowned soprano Michèle Crider. July saw Mathew in concert with the California Philharmonic at the amazing Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles before traveling to St. Louis in August for his role debut as Gherman in Tchaikovsky's Pikovaya Dama with Union Avenue Opera. Finally, in October he made his Toledo Opera debut in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Previously, he performed a mini-tour of Alfredo (La traviata), with the Bakersfield Symphony, Roswell Symphony and Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestras. Then he made his San Francisco Bay Area debut as Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) with West Bay Opera, before heading north to Alaska to sing as Cavaradossi for Opera Fairbanks' production of Tosca with Metropolitan Opera soprano Cynthia Lawrence. He concluded that year with debuts as Frederick (The Pirates of Penzance), at Opera Santa Barbara, and Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana), at Livermore Valley Opera.

Mathew has also performed as Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) also at Opera Santa Barbara, Don José (Carmen) at Opera San Luis Obispo and the Duke (Rigoletto). Among the other roles he has tackled are Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore), Rodolfo (La bohème), Rinuccio and Luigi in Puccini's Il trittico, Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Macduff (Macbeth), Tom Rakewell (The Rake's Progress) the world premiere of Frank LaTalle in The Tree, and Nanki-Poo (The Mikado). His extensive concert work includes performances with the Monterey Opera Orchestra, Torrance Symphony and New West Symphony.