Elisa Matthews is attracting attention in the musical theater and opera worlds for her sweet soprano and compelling stage presence.  Recently she performed Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at Media Theatre.  Neal Zoren writing for the Delco Times reported "Her voice is lovely, and her phrasing divine, but it is her acting and the building of Eliza Doolittle from a street-smart survivor of tough London life to a confident woman, aware of her gifts, that is remarkable."

Other recent musical theater roles include Johanna in a Barrymore-winning production of Sweeney Todd with Arden Theatre Company, Belle in A Christmas Carol with People’s Light & Theatre and Nancy in Oliver! with Media Theatre.  She has premiered numerous musical theater works, most recently grammy winner Frank London's A Night in the Old Marketplace with Prince Music Theater, Winesburg, Ohio and Café Puttanesca with Arden Theatre Company.

Last season, Elisa wowed Opera Delaware audiences with her touching portrayal of Beth in Little Women and returned to play Susanna in their 2009 production of Le Nozze di Figaro.  The News Journal raved "Soprano Elisa Matthews is a perfect Susanna.  She has a clear, lovely voice, nowhere more effective than in her Act IV aria [Deh Vieni non Tardar]."  Other opera roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Annina in La Traviata. She has performed roles with The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Center City Opera Theater and Bard Music Festival.

On the concert stage, she has performed with the Immaculata Symphony as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate, the Delaware Valley Chorale for Donald McCullough’s Holocaust Cantata, the Williamsport Civic Chorus for Brahm’s Ein Deutches Requiem, and in various concerts with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.

 

Ms. Matthews holds a Master of Music with a major in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the Pennsylvania State University, where she appeared in several productions, most notably as Annina in The Saint of Bleecker Street and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Music from Connecticut College where she graduated Cum Laude and appeared as Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense.