DOMINICA MATTHEWS
Australian-born Dominica Matthews is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, UK and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Dominica achieved great success in competitions in both the UK and Australia. Awards won include the 2005 Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award (RNCM), the 2005 Brigitte Fassbaender Lieder Prize (RNCM), the Robin Kay Memorial Opera Prize (RNCM), the 2005 Clonter Opera Audience Prize and Runner-Up Award, the 2002 Nina Barden Memorial Scholarship, the 2001 2MBS-FM Young Performer of the Year and the 1997 Joan Sutherland Society Scholarship. She was also a Peter Moores Foundation Scholar 2004-2006 and an Ian Potter Foundation Grant recipient in 2003-2004.
Dominica has performed as soloist in opera, oratorio and recital with a number of orchestras and ensembles in venues throughout the UK and Australia. Some of these include the Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra, the Goldberg Ensemble, Foden’s Brass Band, the Royal Australian Naval Band, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the SBS Youth Orchestra, the RNCM Opera Orchestra and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Orchestra.
She is currently a principal artist with Opera Australia having completed two years as a member of The Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist Programme. Major appearances have included Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann (for which she won a Green Room Award), Monitress in Suor Angelica, Flora in La traviata, Tessa in The Gondoliers and Eunice Hubble in A Streetcar Named Desire. Roles with other companies have included La Principessa in Suor Angelica, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress.
In 2008, she sang the title roles in Cenerentola and Orlando for Opera Australia; the following year, she performed Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Sonyetka in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and reprised Eunice Hubble in A Streetcar Named Desire. Her performance as Sonyetka saw her win a 2009 Helpmann Award for Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera.
Recent major roles for Opera Australia have included Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Mallika inLakmé. She also appeared as alto soloist for Sydney Philharmonia in Mozart’s Requiem, with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic in Handel’s Messiah and with the Sydney Symphony in The Gilbert & Sullivan Spectacular.
In 2012, Dominica sings Suzuki, Rosina, Cherubino and Lucienne (Die tote Stadt) for Opera Australia.
Dominica Matthews is proudly sponsored by Professor Barbara van Ernst AM
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