Carrie-Ann Matheson
For pianist-vocal coach Carrie-Ann Matheson, the biblical saying that ‘a prophet is not honoured in his own land’ has a certain ring of truth, in her case, musically. She’s virtually unknown in Canada, even though she’s that rare bird—a Canadian pianist/opera coach working internationally, and at the highest level.
A Charlottetown, PEI native, Matheson was a member of the music staff at Metropolitan Opera for several years, before moving to join Zurich Opera in the 2014-15 season, as assistant conductor and vocal coach. Matheson brought with her a wealth of experience, having assisted such renowned conductors as James Levine, Daniel Barenboim, Fabio Luisi, Gianandrea Noseda, and fellow Canuck Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
In addition to her behind-the-scenes work, Matheson also accompanies many singers in recital, among them Rolando Villazon, Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczala, Susan Graham, Joyce DiDonato, Barbara Bonney, and Marilyn Horne. She’s currently Villazon’s pianist of choice—the two just concluded a major recital tour. On the horizon is a series of recitals with new French tenor sensation Benjamin Bernheim.
The reason that Matheson is hardly a household name in Canada is simple—she has built her entire professional career outside Canada: “Yes, other than a few master classes in eastern Canada, I have not really worked in my home country,” she says. “My career began in New York, and I’ve subsequently worked in various places in the USA and abroad. I would love to work in Canada, but the timing has just never been right.”
That said, many Canadian singers worked with
