Tenor Matthew Polenzani confesses that he always comes back to Mozart

When tenor Matthew Polenzani returns to Ravinia this summer, he will reprise one of his trademark roles, Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

It’s a part that has remained his repertoire over the years, along with Mozart in general, even as he has grown into heavier roles. “If you notice the arc of my career, I have always tried to stay close to Mozart, but I also always had one foot a little bit outside of my core repertoire,” he said in a recent interview. “And when I started taking on parts that were heavier, I always came back to Mozart.”

At Ravinia, he heads up a concert version with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Marin Alsop, on Aug. 4 and 6 in the Martin Theatre. Joining him are soprano Janai Brugger (Pamina), baritone Joshua Hopkins (Papageno), soprano Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night), bass David Leigh (Sarastro) and the Apollo Chorus of Chicago. (This winter, he will perform Handel’s Messiah on Dec. 21-23 with the Chicago Symphony and Chorus, under Sir Andrew Davis.)

From the start, Polenzani has earned a reputation as a first-class Mozartean. John von Rhein, longtime critic of the Chicago Tribune, has hailed the tenor for his “beauty of tone, elegance of line and gravitas of manner, reminding us that there are few finer Mozart singers around.” 

Born in Evanston, Polenzani is an alumnus of Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center, where he studied from 1995 to 1997. After graduating, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1997, returning each season since and racking up more than 300 performances of 20 roles. One of his most notable Met productions has been Julie Taymor’s version of The Magic Flute. That production made history when the Met chose it as its first Live in HD transmission to cinemas worldwide in December 2006 (and has been rebroadcast several times since).

“This year is a great year: the whole summer is all Mozart. I have The Magic Flute in Ravinia with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Idomeneo at the Aspen Music Festival, where they cast their young singers around experienced singers, which is a brilliant idea. Right after that, I have La clemenza di Tito in Vienna.”

After singing heavier repertoire, Polenzani finds comfort in returning to Mozart. But nearing 55, he has had to make adjustments. “I did notice after singing Hoffmann [in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann] for the first time that ‘Dalla sua pace’ [from Don Giovanni] was a little harder, and it took me a little while to get back to that place, but I can get myself back there. I benefitted from those roles when I was in my 30s, even though if somebody asked me to sing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni today, I would say, absolutely. I would love to! But I still have Tito and Idomeneo, which are right for my voice, and I like them.”