Praised for the “thrilling vocal color” and “sweetly winning” presence, American soprano Anya Matanovič  (ma ta’ no vich) makes her international opera debut in Franco Zeffirelli’s captivating production of Puccini’s La bohème as Musetta during the New Israeli Opera’s 2008-09 Season.

This fall, Matanovič makes her Opera Cleveland debut as Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, in a production directed by Chuck Hudson, conducted by Artistic Director Dean Williamson and returns for their spring production of Verdi’s Falstaff as Nannetta, directed by Peter Kazaras.  In summer of 2009, she joins the Seattle Opera artist roster for their internationally revered production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Stephen Wadsworth.  Anya Matanovič has engagements with Kentucky Opera and her return to Seattle Opera in future seasons.

In the 2007-2008 Season, Anya Matanovič appeared on the New York City Opera’s roster for their productions of Massenet’s Cendrillon, La bohème, and Purcell’s King Arthur, making her debut as Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen.  Ms. Matanovič also was featured in New York City Opera’s VOX: Showcasing American Composers Series in works by Sorrel Hays and Cary Ratcliff.

For the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 Seasons, Ms. Matanovič shared her time between the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, appearing in their productions as Flora in Britten’s A Turn of the Screw, Serpina in Mozart’s La Serva Padrona, and Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff; and the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers, making her mainstage debut as a “pert, appealing” Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

Anya Matanovič made her professional opera debut, directly from her undergraduate studies, as Mimì in the Los Angeles commercial engagement of Baz Luhrmann’s Tony Award-winning production of La Bohème.  Ms. Matanovič appeared in University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music productions of The Crucible, Gianni Schicchi, and Hansel und Gretel. 

Ms. Matanovič is equally comfortable on the concert stage appearing with Santa Fe Opera, Portland (OR) Chamber Orchestra, Hoku Concert Series in Hawaii, Sun Valley Opera, the Palm Springs Orchestra and the Music of Remembrance Concert Series in Seattle.  Anya also has appeared on the television series Alias, starring Jennifer Garner and Victor Garber.   Ms. Matanovič was also a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received prize money from such institutions as the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera Buffs, Leni Fe Bland, and the Sun Valley Opera .  She is a co-founder of NachtMusik, an operatic outreach group dedicated to bringing opera to the many different communities of Los Angeles.

Raised in Issaquah, Washington to a Slovenian father and American mother, Anya now calls New York City her home, with filmmaker John Roche and their cat, Grippus.