An insider’s look at opera

Portland Opera General Director Chris Mattaliano will be visiting PSU tomorrow to deliver a free lecture titled “The World of Professional Opera.”

Mattaliano will discuss his opera career and art in general, giving personal insights into how he directs and how he chooses shows for each opera season.

Mattaliano has been the general director of Portland Opera since 2003. During his long directing career, he has also focused on the education and training of young opera singers. He started a student program in which aspiring singers have the opportunity to play small roles in their productions.

“He works with young singers to help them with the more theatrical aspects of opera,” said Clare Burovac, director of artistic operations for Portland Opera. “He believes in the complete artist. He believes that you shouldn’t just sing the notes; you should act the role of the characters and bring everything a trained stage actor would bring to the stage.”

Mattaliano takes after his mentor, famous opera director Frank Corsaro, a recent winner of the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Award.

“[Corsaro] revolutionized the way opera is directed. There’s a history of opera being thought of as just having singers, not actors,” Burovac said. “Frank was one of the directors to bring a theatrical vision and aesthetic to opera.”

Many non-opera-goers regard opera as a pastime for the wealthy, cultured elite. But Mattaliano—having come from a working class Italian American household in New Jersey—shows that anyone can enjoy, participate in and have a successful career in opera. After discovering opera by accident, he is now the general director of one of the most respected opera companies in the United States.

Portland Opera features a wide variety of programs. In addition to four or five operas per year, they also present Broadway Across America, bringing Broadway hits such as Wicked to Portland. The company supports the local arts economy by hiring most of their employees and performers from the Portland community.

It also offers education and outreach events. Portland Opera To Go!, a touring opera, visits schools that have had to cut the arts from their programs.