Opera Idaho is excited to welcome back tenor Matt Morgan, along with Sarah Jane McMahon, on Friday, March 11, 2011 at The Egyptian Theatre. Morgan starred in Opera Idaho’s 2009 production of Faust, as a Faust who was “deeply conflicted…showing the complex struggle between his good and evil sides that [made] the tragedy of Marguerite’s downfall all the more pitiful.” Click here to visit his website.

Sarah Jane McMahon will be making her first appearance in Idaho, though she is a frequent guest with the New York City Opera. Click here to visit her website.

Music from La Bohème, Gianni Schicchi, La Traviata, Faust, The Pirates of Penzance, and West Side Story, as well as Italian song favorites.

Come and listen to Matt Morgan’s free master class on March 12 at 3:00 PM at the Opera Idaho Studio (513 S 8th St, Boise).

Cast & Gallery

Matt Morgan & Sarah Jane McMahon

Matt Morgan, Tenor
Having the distinction of making debuts at three of the four theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center, Matt Morgan is rapidly establishing himself as the tenor to watch. His New York debut came as Don Gomez in Weber’s Die drei Pintos with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. The very same season, his New York City Opera debut occurred in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Following these successes, Mr. Morgan debuted with the National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

He has performed at New York City Opera for four consecutive seasons to great audience and critical acclaim in a variety of repertoire ranging from Rameau’s Platee to works of the 20th century. Most recently he appeared in their new production of The Pirates of Penzance where Mr. Morgan was as an “endearing and loveable” Frederick “with the right hero looks and a wonderful tenor voice”. Among his many appearances at Lincoln Center his other New York successes include his remarkable portrayal of Britten’s anti-hero in Gotham Chamber Opera’s wildly successful production of Albert Herring.

Outside of New York City, Mr. Morgan has appeared with Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Colorado, Fort Worth Opera, Portland Opera, New Orleans Opera, Dayton Opera, Toledo Opera, and many others in a variety of repertoire. His performances have included Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Tamino in Die Zauberflote, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Romeo in Romeo et Juliette, as well as many works of modern opera and musical theater. A much sought after interpreter of this repertoire he has most recently starred at New York City Opera as Frederick in their new production of The Pirates of Penzance, after previously taking part in their premieres of The Mines of Sulphur, and The Little Prince. He also appeared recently with Fort Worth Opera as Curly opposite Anthony Dean Griffey in Of Mice and Men and as Tony in West Side Story with New Orleans Opera.

His busy concert schedule has taken him to sing with some of the country’s leading symphony orchestras and concert organizations including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the National Chorale, and the Bard Music Festival in a variety of repertoire ranging from the works of Handel to music of the 20th century.

During the 2008-2009 season, Mr. Morgan makes debuts at Opera Colorado as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Greenwich Music Festival as Der Soldat in Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and Sacramento Opera as Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance. After successes as Laurie in Little Women, he returns to Dayton Opera as Camille in The Merry Widow. He also makes return appearances at Avery Fisher Hall for performances of Handel’s Messiah, Opera Theater Pittsburgh, and the Johnstown Symphony 80th.

In the 2009-2010 season and beyond Mr. Morgan will return to New York City Opera for Chabrier’s L’etoile, create the role of Hamlet in Herschel Garfein’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, make his role and house debut as Faust with Opera Idaho, the tenor soloist in Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with Danbury Symphony, a new productions of Bernstein’s Mass with The Virginia Arts Festival, continue the creation of the role of Pan in Kamran Ince’s new opera The Judgement of Midas, and make his role debut as Nadir in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers.

Upcoming in the 2010-2011 season Mr. Morgan makes his company debuts with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra as Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Syracuse Opera as Nanki Poo in The Mikado, makes his role debut as Ruggiero in La Rondine, and creates the role of Pan in Kamran Ince’s opera The Judgement of Midas. On the concert stage he appears at the Morgan Library in New York City, with Opera Idaho, Milwaukee’s Festa Italiana, the Allegheny Valley Concert Association, and in the PBS television special Opera Masters. Additionally he returns to Avery Fisher Hall, the Jacksonsville Symphony, and the Dayton Philharmonic as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah. He rounds out his year appearing as a guest master teacher Pittsburgh, Louisiana State University, and, Idaho.

Equally at home on television as he is on the stage, Mr. Morgan is currently featured on three PBS television specials. Matt Morgan in Concert, which has been awarded two international television Accolade Awards; Opera Louisiane, alongside operatic superstars Susan Graham and Paul Groves; and the newly released Opera Masters. His esteemed reputation as a crossover artist has made him a favorite performer for many public and private organizations, allowing him to perform for countless heads of state and captains of industry.

Mr. Morgan tours North America regularly, most recently playing to crowds of tens of thousands at the two largest Italian festivals in North America- (Milwaukee Festa Italiana and the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival). As a recording artist his DVD’s and CD’s are distributed internationally and are carried by every online music service and music seller worldwide. Mr. Morgan is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Center, National Opera Company, and Louisiana State University. He is based in New York City and continues his studies with Bill Schuman.

Sarah Jane McMahon, Soprano
Hailed by The New York Times as “bright, active, and fastidiously musical,” and by Opera News as having “a golden sound,” Sarah Jane McMahon is recognized for her “beautiful vocal sophistication” and “sparkling stage presence.” Recently, Sarah Jane sang a Gala concert opposite Placido Domingo on his newly dedicated stage in New Orleans, and made her debut at the Wiener Konzert Haus and Bremen’s Die Glocke in their concert productions of Candide. A frequent guest artist at New York City Opera, she performed Mabel in their new production of The Pirates of Penzance and was described by The New York Times as “the most polished and flexible singer in the cast” and “a deft comic actress.” She also received their coveted Kolozsvar Award for her performances as Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and was lauded for her “silvery-voiced soprano” and “real star presence” in Purcell’s King Arthur.

Selected by Maestro Placido Domingo to join the Los Angeles Opera, she sang with the celebrated tenor as the Fifth Flower Maiden in Parsifal. Other roles with that company include Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos and The Milliner in Der Rosenkavalier. Sarah Jane also has performed with both Michigan Opera Theatre and Virginia Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Opera Theater of Connecticut as Violetta in La Traviata, Arizona Opera as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Opera Grand Rapids as Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Maria in West Side Story and Micaela in Carmen, with the Washington Concert Opera as Dorinda in Handel’s Orlando, with Central City Opera as Maria in West Side Story, Kathie in The Student Prince, Anne in A Little Night Music, and Lucia in Rape of Lucretia, with Chautauqua Opera as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Opera Company of North Carolina and Mississippi Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto, Piedmont Opera as Clara in The Light in the Piazza, Opera Theater of Connecticut as Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and with Des Moines Metro Opera as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Abigail Williams in The Crucible. Her roles with the New Orleans Opera include Pamina in Die Zauberflote, Micaela in Carmen, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Musetta in La Boheme, Monica in The Medium, and Maria in West Side Story. Sarah Jane also performed Donna Clara, the Infanta, in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at Bard SummerScape Festival for which Opera News wrote: “Sarah Jane McMahon laughed and danced as the glamorous Infanta, making a golden sound with an alluring light vibrato that evoked the young Pilar Lorengar.”

A summa cum laude graduate of Loyola University, New Orleans, and Yale University, recent concert appearances have included Carmina Burana at Avery Fisher Hall and with the Tulsa Opera and Ballet, the Rutter Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Bravissimo! with the Canadian Opera Orchestra, Messiah with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Knoxville Summer of 1915 with the Ridgefield Symphony, a Gala concert with the Sarasota Symphony, and a New Year’s Eve Gala with the New Orleans Opera.

Upcoming engagements: Candide with the Munich Philharmonic, Josephine in HMS Pinafore with both the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and San Antonio Opera, Xanthe in Richard Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae with Bard SummerScape Festival, and a Gala Concert with the Santo Domingo Festival in the Dominican Republic.

Sarah Jane has recorded the title role in the premiere recording of Emmerich Kalman’s Sari, available on Albany Records. She also has an album of sacred music dedicated to New Orleans and the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, as well as a newly released Christmas album, Night of Silence.