Carnegie Hall

Swedish baritone Peter Mattei studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and the University College of Opera in Stockholm. He made his debut in 1990 as Nardo in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera at the Drottningholm Court Theatre and the following year, he made his sensational Royal Swedish Opera debut in the role of Pentheus in Daniel Börtz’s The Bacchae, directed by the legendary Ingmar Bergman.

Mr. Mattei’s international breakthrough came with the title role in Peter Brook’s staging of Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1998, and he has since had the privilege to work with many of the world’s foremost conductors and directors on stages across Europe and in the US. As Don Giovanni—one of his favorite roles—Mr. Mattei has captivated audiences at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as at the prestigious festivals of Salzburg, Lucerne, and Tanglewood.

Mr. Mattei has been a frequent guest at the Metropolitan Opera since his debut in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, appearing as Amfortas in Parsifal, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, the title role of Eugene Onegin, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello in La bohème, and Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades. He has sung Shishkov in From the House of the Dead and this winter made his role debut as Wozzeck.

In 2018, Mr. Mattei and pianist Lars David Nilsson went on an acclaimed Nordic concert tour with Schubert’s Winterreise, which led to a recording for Swedish Television and an album, which has been nominated for a 2020 Swedish Grammis award. In December, Mr. Mattei was named vocalist of the year by Musical America.

Lars David Nilsson grew up in Trelleborg in southern Sweden and studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He graduated with a diploma as an organist, as well as with a soloist diploma for the piano. He made his solo debut at the age of 24 at the Konserthuset Stockholm with a recital that was broadcast live on Swedish Radio P2. Three years later, he was soloist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto.

Mr. Nilsson has had a special interest in lieder and the art song repertoire since his youth, and has collaborated with singers, including Peter Mattei, early on in his career. Since 2001, Mr. Nilsson has been employed as a collaborative pianist at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, where he has worked on more than 40 different opera productions. Mr. Nilsson has also worked regularly at the Drottningholm Theatre with conductor Marc Minkowski. Mr. Nilsson has also been a teacher at the Royal College of Music and has worked as an organist in Stockholm. As a chamber musician and soloist, he has made several recordings for Swedish Radio.