Metropolitan Opera Singer Martin Matthews Sings Brahms & Bukowski

Long Beach, CA-Martin Matthews (Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Sante Fe Opera) will be performing The Serious Songs by J. Brahms with additional repertoire including Schubert lied and Charles Bukowski poems set to music by composer Persis Vehar. Sunday, September 2nd, 4:00pm at St. Francis by the Sea in Laguna Beach. Mr. Matthews will be accompanied by pianist Iris Malkin. The concerts will feature The Serious Songs, first performed in 1898, a monumental work for both piano and low voice demanding exceptional musical technique. The first three songs are taken from the Old Testament and deal with death, the transience of life and oppression. The text of the fourth song is taken from the New Testament and focuses on faith, hope and charity. Additional repertoire includes Schubert lied, Death and the Maiden and excerpts from ?The Original Hard Luck Story of the Universe?, a 20 song cycle of the poetry of Charles Bukowski set to music by composer, Persis Vehar. After running a successful opera company now in its 10th year in upstate New York, Mr. Matthews has relocated to Southern California and looking forward to contributing to the areas rich musical traditions. ?The Brahms' Serious Songs is a major work in the bass repertoire and is rarely performed. Singing these songs is a rite of passage and more fully expressed when one is more mature. The themes discussed in the biblical extracts are as controversial and important today as they were 120 years ago. The songs were vilified and shunned when they first premiered because of the idea that all life has a soul, not just man. Somewhat related are the poems of Charles Bukowski which contain a certain darkness and gloom with a touch of humor. I?m a great admirer of Bukowski?s writings and wanted to take the edgy rhythm of his poems and have them set to music. Persis created a beautiful song cycle that compliments his poetry extremely well especially with the song 'Spring Swan' which is also about transcendence.?
Martin Matthews is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and SUNY-Buffalo, NY. A true coloratura basso cantante, he has performed with many of the great opera companies in the US and abroad including The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Miami Opera, Minnesota Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Ireland, Opera de Montreal, Opera de Monte Carlo, Birmingham Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera de Quebec, Vancouver Opera, The Canadian Opera Company, The Green Mountain Festival (VT) and Festival de Belle-ile en Mer (Fr). He can be heard on the Naxos label release of 'Night at the Opera' with other singers who have debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as well as numerous songs on the Victor Herbert Collection on New World Records.