Bio

American baritone Kenneth Mattice has earned international praise for his warm, lyric voice and his captivating stage presence.  The 2021-22 season marks this Wisconsin native’s eighth year as the principal baritone at Germany’s Theater Hagen.  This season he can be seen in Zar & Zimmermann (Zar Peter), L'elisir d'amore/Der Liebestrank (Belcore), Die Blume von Hawaii (Captain Stone), soloist in a staged version of Schubert's Winterreise, a New Year's concert with his wife, soprano, Emily Newton and in the World Premiere of A Room of One's Own (Professor) by Outi Tarkiainen.  He will also be a guest with Theater Lübeck in Viva la Mamma (Stefano).

In previous seasons at Theater Hagen, Mr. Mattice performed the title characters in Eugene Onegin, Zar & Zimmermann (Zar), Graf von Luxemburg (Graf René) and Jonny Spielt Auf, as well as leading roles in Le Nozze di Figaro (Almaviva), Das Schlaue Füchslein/The Cunning Little Vixen (Förester), Madama Butterfly (Sharpless), Die Csárdásfürstin (Edwin), Die Zauberflöte (Papageno), Lucia di Lammermoor (Enrico), Faust (Valentin), Kiss Me Kate (Fred/Petruchio), Simon Boccanegra (Paolo) [also as guest with Badisches Staatsheater Karlsruhe], Pariser Leben (Baron von Gondremark), Il Turco in Italia (Prosdocimo), Rusalka (Jäger & Heger), Dido & Aeneas (Aeneas), Der Rosenkavalier (Faninal) and the European Premiere of Everest (Doug Hansen).

His German operatic debut was with Theater Dortmund as Larry King in the European Continental Premiere production of Anna Nicole (with wife, soprano Emily Newton, in the title role).  In Bergamo, Italy, Mr. Mattice performed the role of Petruccio in Efrain Amaya’s World Premiere production of La Bisbetica Domata at the Festival Internazionale della Cultura, then in Macau, China, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas for the Macau International Music Festival and, in Brugge, Belgium, Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon.  In the U.S., he has performed leading roles with Opera San José (two seasons as Principal Resident Artist), Opera Tampa, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Opera Delaware, Opera Orlando, Opera Providence, Shreveport Opera, Opera Saratoga and Union Avenue Opera.

A champion of new opera, Mr. Mattice created the title role in the World Premiere of TESLA in Miami, in his third collaboration with opera composer Carson Kievman.  His previous Kievman World Premieres have included Hamlet (as Hamlet) and Fairy Tales: Songs of the Dandelion Woman (as the Bank Examiner).

Mr. Mattice has been a winner in the Palm Beach Opera Competition, the Bel Canto Italian Opera Competition and was a semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (New England Region).  He attended the Boston University Opera Institute and holds degrees from Northwestern University (M.M., Cert. in Perf.) and Luther College (B.A.).