Matthew Hargreaves was born in London and began singing as a chorister at Westminster Abbey. He later went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Rudolph Piernay. At the GSMD Matthew won several prizes including an award from the Wolfson Foundation. Matthew was a finalist in the 1996 International Coloratura Singing Competition in Luxembourg and won the Decca Prize in the 1997 Kathleen Ferrier Award Competition.
Operatic engagements in the UK include Escamillo in Carmen‚ Schaunard in La boheme‚ The Speaker in The Magic Flute‚ Masetto in Don Giovanni‚ Ping in Turandot and Sourin in The Queen of Spades for Welsh National Opera; Escamillo Carmen at the Royal Albert Hall; Zurga in The Pearl Fishers for Opera Holland Park; Dandini in La Cenerentola for English Touring Opera and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro for Savoy Opera. European engagements include Junius The Rape of Lucretia for the Teatro Comunale di Firenze; Abbot Curlew River for Opera de Rouen; English Clerk Death in Venice and Traveller Curlew River for VARA in concert performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Alidoro in La Cenerentola for Opera Theatre Company‚ whilst engagements further afield include Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea and Leporello for Opera Atelier in Toronto‚ conducted by Marc Minkowski and the title role Don Giovanni with Opera Atelier on tour to Japan.
Matthew has an extensive concert and oratorio repertoire and has worked with all the major British orchestras‚ with highlights including Handel’s Sing unto God with The Academy of Ancient Music conducted by Chistopher Hogwood at the BBC Proms and Bosun in concert performances of Billy Budd conducted by Kent Nagano and the Hallé Orchestra‚ which was also recorded for Erato Disques. Concert engagements overseas include Bach’s St John Passion with Music of the Baroque conducted by Nicholas Kraemer in Chicago‚ Handel’s Messiah with Göteborgs Symfoniker and performances of Messiah on tour across Europe with Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert.
Recordings include the Abbot in Curlew River for Koch International; Rambaldo in Maria di Rudenz and Ali in Zoraida di Granata for Opera Rara‚ Wagner in Faust for Chandos Records. Matthew recently recorded the music for an audio play of The Phantom of the Opera broadcast on BBC7 and available on CD.
Recent engagements include Sciarrone Tosca at the Royal Opera House‚ Covent Garden‚Don Giovanni Welsh National Opera‚ Angelotti Tosca The Royal Albert Hall‚ Tomsky The Queen of Spades and Basilio Il Barbiere di Siviglia Opera Holland Park‚ The Gallworm The Cricket Recovers by Richard Ayres in Bregenz‚ Figaro Le Nozze di Figaro‚ Calchas La Belle Helene and Leporello Don Giovanni Diva Opera‚ Messiah Hallé Orchestra‚ Faure Requiem Welsh Proms‚ Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs Ulster Orchestra‚ Pulcinella Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin‚ Christus St John Passion Kristiansund Symfoni Orkester‚ Norway and with Manchester Camerata‚ L’Allegro‚ il Penseroso ed il Moderato by Händel with Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic & Choir and Messiah Detroit Symphony.
Most recent & future plans include Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutte and Colline La Bohème with Diva Opera‚ Leporello at Opera Holland Park and Christus St Matthew Passion in Kristiansund.
