Press

UTAH OPERA - LA TRAVIATA

OPERA SANTA BARBARA - THE CRUCIBLE

"Anya Matanovic brought out every shade of nuance in their formidable adversary, the wily Abigail Williams” -Charles Donelan, Santa Barbara Independent

UTAH OPERA - ROMEO AND JULIET

"Matanovič’s coloratura sparkled through “Je veux vivre” with secure top notes, well-controlled trills and fluent lyricism. She embodied the playfulness and carefree nature of youth. Her demeanor and vocal coloring subtly darkened as tragedy turned her world upside down. Matanovič’s final duet with Dennis was vocally satisfying and dramatically touching.” -Robert Coleman, Opera News

“Anya Matanovic transforms Juliette from an idealistic child to a devoted woman, beginning with a voice as nimble and joyful as her youthful energy, growing into her own radiance in the balcony scene, and maturing into the full powers of her womanhood as she engagingly grapples with her decision to take the sleeping potion. That her demeanor and her voice both take the journey shows considerable skill and artistry.” -Jennifer Mustoe, Front Row Reviewers

“Matanovič has appeared in several Utah Opera productions over the years, most recently in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Le nozze di Figaro. She has always been impressive in her portrayals, and as Juliette, she was no less remarkable. She possesses a rich, warm soprano that is well suited for the sweet moments in her duets with Roméo, yet she also has the power to carry her own in the ensemble numbers and in Juliette’s famous waltz aria, “Je veux vivre.” - Edward Reichel, Utah Arts Review

OPERA COLORADO - LA BOHEME

"The entrance of Anya Matanovic (another debut) presented a promise of good things to come. Appropriately small and frail, she portrayed an instantly likable and sweetly fragile Mimi, singing with assurance and embracing a blessedly understated “Si, mi chiamano Mimì.” -Marc Shulgold, Opera News

"Soprano Anya Matanovic is the standout as the doomed seamstress, Mimì. Her Act I aria soars to radiant heights, and her death scene at the end is as believable as possible, with just the right vocal inflections as Mimì fades away.” -Kelly Dean Hansen, Denver Post

LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY - PIRATES OF PENZANCE

"Frederic, was a sincere Jonathan Johnson, with a beautiful tenor, matched by the exquisite Anya Matanovic, whose sweet tone and effortless range underpinned an independent, firecracker personality."-Libby Hanssen, The Kansas City Star

BOSTON LYRIC OPERA - THE RAKE'S PROGRESS

"Anya Matanovič was a magnetic Anne, singing with lilting, luminous confidence.” -Zoe Madonna, The Boston Globe

“A fine soprano with refined dynamic control, Anya Matanovic made a warm-voiced Anne.”  -David Shengold, Opera (UK)

"As Anne Trulove, soprano Anya Matanovic found the innocence of the girl next door. She handled the work’s punishing leaps with aplomb, delivering a searching “No word from Tom” and a vibrant and precise 'I go, I go to him.' "  -Aaron Keebaugh, Boston Classical Review

"Soprano Anya Matanovic created a stunning Anne Trulove, a heroine who, as her the character's name suggests, is unflagging in her to devotion to her beloved Tom. Belying her petite stature, her voice is well-sized and focused. It is a soprano of great purity, and often quite affecting. Like her colleagues, she acted her role to perfection, and proved a noble and sympathetic heroine. " -Ed Tapper, Edge Media Network

NEW ORLEANS OPERA - DIE FLEDERMAUS

"Anya Matanovic, another artist making her New Orleans debut, was a delightful Adele, reveling in the character's high jinks and sparkling in the coloratura. Matanovic's lovely singing brought to life all of the chambermaid's music, culminating in an effervescent Act III aria that was as charmingly staged as it was well sung."  -George Dansker, Opera News

"Among the best voices onstage was soprano Anya Matanovic, playing the maid Adele. Her coy "Laughing Song" of the second act displayed a brightly rounded coloratura. Throughout the performance, she also gave the duplicitous maid a richer warmth than is often heard in the role." -Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com

"Also delightfully generous with the coloratura was soprano Anya Matanovic as Adele, the Eisensteins’ maid. During the ball scene, she stole the show with her aria usually known as “Adele’s Laughing Song." -Dean M. Shapiro, The New Orleans Advocate

WHITEBOX ART CENTER – HANDEL'S ORLANDO

" a sensitive, daring cast fully committed to the hapless characters....

....the darker-hued, dazzling Anya Matanovic..."                                                                              Zachary Woolfe, New York Times

"Ms. Matanovic build the ingenue Dorinda into an exemplar of female empowerment flinging off her nerdy glasses and unfurling her pigtails as she vaulted the trills and scales of her final aria "Amor e qual vento".                                                                              James Jordan, The NY Observer

"The show -stoppers are baritone Hadleigh Adams (Zoroastro) and soprano Anya Matanovic (Dorinda).... Matanovic has an enormously resonant voice that moves with lightness and agility while preserving its fullness. Her sound filled the entire room at all points in her register and during all her movements, even when facing the wall or with her face obscured by a prop. Her aria, "Amore e qual vento" was brilliantly and deftly performed, even as Matanovic pulled off a Sandra Dee-style transformation from innocent shepherdess to a woman empowered by her own sexiness."                            Alexis Rodda, Opera Today

"Both Kiera Duffy as Angelica and Anya Matanovic as Dorinda sang with lustrous tone and superb control, even when tasked with climbing over the subway bench or, in Matanovic's case, effecting a full transformation from nerd to club girl."                     Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News

BOSTON LYRIC OPERA – LA TRAVIATA

"BLO has certainly been lucky in the rising star they’ve found to play Verdi’s fallen woman. Luminous soprano Anya Matanovic is blessed with a voice that more than matches her entrancing beauty: perhaps a bit hushed at the bottom, it nevertheless blooms to a glowing bouquet of color as it rises. What’s more, Matanovic has the effortless emotional presence of a born actress – and endows her Violetta with not only a passionate inner life but a convincing emotional integrity (which is a good thing, as she contemplates each and every romantic decision at length, and with utter candor)"  Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review

"Soprano Anya Matanovic was making her debut in the notoriously challenging role of Violetta, the ‘traviata'(fallen woman) of the title. Conventional wisdom has it that this role requires three different types of singer: agile high coloratura, near-dramatic, and full lyric. Matanovic seldom gave any indication of being less at home in any one type. The light, brilliant writing of the famously demanding Sempre libera (“Always free”) came off well… her galvanizing coloratura credibly suggested Violetta’s faux-happy near-hysteria as she tried to drown out Alfredo’s offstage declaration of love for her. In II.i (Part 1, sc. 2), the most vocally taxing part of the role, Matanovic excelled in the big singing of her dramatic exchanges with Germont. Yet some of her loveliest singing of the evening was her accession to Germont’s request that she renounce Alfredo for the sake of his sister’s wedding; this aria, sung largely piano, had a purity and restraint that tugged at the heart. In Act III (Part 2, sc. 2), the soprano was lyrically beautiful in “Farewell to happy dreams”, otherworldly in “Take this portrait”, and vibrantly joyous as Violetta in her cruelly short revitalization." Geoffrey Wieting, The Boston Musical Intelligencer

" Matanovic is a flame that burns brightly. Her Violetta is played as coy and manipulative, but with a tender vulnerability. We forget that she’s a skilled courtesan and remember that she’s a young woman who’s never been loved for herself." Kitty Drexel, The New England Theater Geek

"The Violetta here, Anya Matanovic, is delightful. She has a crystal clear voice that does the trick for the demanding range required by the role. She is also a good actress, conveying the giddy sense of indifference required early on, and the devastated, then devotional, stances later on. "Boston Arts Diary 

" “La Traviata” may be Verdi’s romantic opera and Violetta his most heartbreaking heroine.BLO stage director Chas Rader Shieber has strikingly captured her transformation with a vocally strong and theatrically affecting performance by Anya Matanovic."  Jules Becker, South End News

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA – STRAUSS' DAPHNE

"The Two Maids briefly get some of the opera's most disarming music and have sometimes won glamorous casting (Edita Gruberove and Rita Streich number among Vienna's First Maids). They had it here, with two excellent young stars of regional opera (Lauren Snouffer and Anya Matanovic), both a pleasure to hear solo and blending"              David Shengold, Opera News

"The two standouts of the cast, by far, were the sopranos Lauren Snouffer and Anya Matanovic, the two maids who taunt Leukippos and persuade him to disguise himself as a woman at the festival. Snouffer owns a lovely voice of crystalline focus, but shows not a hint of sharpness, remaining warm and liquid from top to bottom. Matanovic's instrument is two shades darker, with an added whiff of smoke. Moreover, the two women had as much dramatic presence between them as the rest of the cast combined; to hear them sing duets all evening would have been a thrill."                                 Eric C Simpson, New York Classical Review

SANTA FE OPERA – THE GRAND DUCHESS OF GEROLSTEIN

"His beloved Wanda, soprano Anya Matanovic, displayed a great deal more spirit and personality than the usual operetta soubrette ever does, and one could imagine her becoming a formidable despot herself, one day."  William V Madison, GB Opera Magazine

"Soprano Anya Matanovic is an earnest, pure-toned Wanda."  James M. Keller, The Santa Fe New Mexican 

 "Sung by radiant, clear-voiced Anya Matanovič, Wanda is eventually united with Fritz at the end."  Maria Nockin, Opera Today 

"…Wanda (sung with silvery lightness by Anya Matanovič, another former Santa Fe Opera apprentice)…" Charles T. Downey, The Classical Review

"Anya Matanovič sings Wanda, Fritz’s long-suffering beloved, with artless charm. Their delightful first-act duet makes for a happy respite from all the surrounding hurly-burly."  John Stege, Santa Fe Reporter 

UTAH OPERA – DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE

"Soprano Anya Matanovic, as Pamina, and baritone Daniel Belcher, as Papageno, combined for a delicate, graceful “Bei Männern,” radiating vocal warmth and charm…. Matanovic’s stunning beauty and equally alluring voice were especially captivating in scenes with Belcher." Robert Coleman, Opera News

"As Pamina, Tamino’s love interest, soprano Anya Matanovic is breathtaking. She has the looks and demeanor to pull off the role of a young woman experiencing love for the first time, yet she also captured Pamina’s strength and courage in warding off Monostatos’ advances and her determination to lead Tamino through his trials. Her voice is crystalline and she brings nuanced subtleties to her singing."   Edward Reichel, Reichel Recommends

"Matanovic combined vocal purity with a radiant stage presence that let the goodness of Pamina’s character shine through." Catherine Reese Newton, The Salt Lake Tribune

SEATTLE OPERA – FIDELIO

"Outstanding among the secondary roles was Anya Matanovic’s Marzelline. Her Act I aria (“Di Hoffnung schon erfüllt die Brust”) was quite delightful and won deserved applause." John F. Hulcoop, Opera News

"Another former Seattle Opera Young Artist, Anya Matanovič, made an exceptionally charming Marzelline, singing with crystalline and surprisingly substantial tone." Bernard Jacobson, Seen and Heard International

"Sharing the stage is a star-studded cast that shines individually and blends beautifully: young Anya Matanovic as a flirty Marzelline who falls improbably in love with ‘Fidelio’ and whose glossy soprano just gets better and better." Rosemary Ponnekanti, The News Tribune

"Matanovic’s lovely coloratura and charming demeanor, as she watered a brightly colored flower garden and sang of the anticipated joys of marriage, instantly provided an effective contrast between life on the outside and existence on the inside of the prison walls. Matanovic managed to give complexity to the ingénue role of Marzelline, and her light soprano voice blended well with Libor’s heavier one during their duets." Alice Bloch, Seattle Gay News 

"Anya Matanovič brings an added note of passion to Marzelline. She plays not just a girlish soprano coquette fickly rejecting the hapless Jaquino, but a woman whose education parallels that of Leonore. By the final scene, her eyes have clearly been opened." Thomas May, Crosscut

"Anya Matanovic was a charming, big-voiced Marzelline." Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times

UTAH OPERA – L’ELISIR D’AMORE

"Matanovič’s lyric voice accurately traversed the composer’s bel canto score with sparkling purity, and her engaging duets with Blake and Nelman were some of the evening’s highlights." Robert Coleman, Opera News

"Soprano Anya Matanovic made a most winsome Adina, with a glittering voice and abundant charm." Catherine Reese Newton, The Salt Lake Tribune

"Soprano Anya Matanovic is wonderful as Adina. She has a lovely, lyrical voice that is well suited for bel canto. She is also a noteworthy actress and played her character convincingly. "  Edward Reichel,Reichel Recommends

"Soprano Anya Matanovic dazzled as Nemorino’s love interest, Adina. Tasked with many of the musical fireworks of the production, Matanovic’s performance maintained a flirty playfulness, even while executing many of the evening’s most challenging selections." Travis Poppleton, Deseret News

GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL – CARMEN

"As Micaëla, Anya Matanovič — in her Glimmerglass Festival debut — delivered the most impressive vocal effort of the evening and a solid acting effort, as well. Dressed in a humble, plain-Jane costume, Matanovič projected an image of the iconic character Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz — fresh out of Kansas. She played her character to perfection, projecting an aura of innocence, simplicity and purity that contrasted sharply with that of Carmen…

The lustrous quality of Matanovič’s sinuous soprano, with its golden timbre and silky-smooth legato, charmed the ears immediately when we first encounter her as a frightened peasant girl who has wandered far from home in search of her elusive fiancé. Her performance in the exquisitely written duet with Don José (Ma mère, je la vois) evoked endless shades of feeling and nuance.

Matanovič’s signature third-act aria (Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante), which proved the artistic highpoint of the production, might have been used in a master-class to demonstrate nuance of phrasing, control of dynamics, maintaining quality of the high register and confident, effortless delivery. This was a first-class performance, and the most satisfying Micaëla I have heard to date." David Abrams, Musical Criticism

"As Micaela, Anya Matanovic displayed a lovely lyric soprano, enhanced by a fine-spun vibrato." Fred Cohn, Opera News

"Anya Matanovic’s exquisitely realized Micaela was the standout…" Anne Midgette, Washington Post

"As the pure and good Micaëla, Anya Matanovic provided a perfect contrast to the opera’s bad girl. Her sweet and clear soprano voice seemed to float in an almost heavenly place above the dark side of the story." Jane Dieckmann, Ithaca Times

"Matanovic delivers Micaela’s purity with her lustrous and beautiful voice. A marvelous performance." James Karas, Press + 1

"Micaëla is sometimes a thankless role because her meek, church-mouse-like mannerisms do not stand up well against the rest of the complex cast of characters. However, this production has many tender moments between Don José and Micaëla that leave youcheering for her to win over José. Anya Matanovic performed the role of Micaëla with beautiful simplicity and her voice soared in her aria Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante." Joel Herold, Opera Pulse

"American Soprano Anya Matanovič nails every note. As are so many performers at Glimmerglass, she is also youngish in years but highly skilled. To her good fortune, she is cast as an impressionable and virginal character, and her performance is more than simply believable—it is spot on." Gale Martin, Bachtrack

"Mind you Anya Matanovič’s Micaela, the village girl-friend come to entice Don José back to his home and mother, was so beautiful and compelling in her genuine love for José that one kept wishing he would pull back and really listen to her. Their duets in Acts I and III were extraordinarily lovely – Bizet no longer in Spanish mode but ‘singing’ to us in true lyrical French vein – beautiful indeed."  Bill West, Table Hopping Magazine

"Especially noteworthy was soprano Anya Matanovič’s performance as Don José’s ardent and loyal Micaëla." Seth Lachterman, New York Arts

"Anya Matanovic displays a beautiful, sweet, even voice as Micaëla; she’s headed for a great career." Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail

"Anya Matanovič sang beautifully as Micaëla." Joseph Dalton, Albany Times Union

"Anya Matanovič was a sweet Micaëla." Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal

"Anya Matanovič was a delectable Micaela, with a throbbing, slightly steely lyric soprano that conveyed more starchy resolve than is often encountered with this simple character." James Sohre, Opera Today

SEATTLE OPERA – DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE

"Anya Matanovič, Marcy Stonikas, and Lindsey Anderson, as the Three Ladies, were individually excellent and well matched vocally." John F. Hulcoop, Opera News

UTAH OPERA – HÄNSEL AND GRETEL

"Brilliant casting paired mezzo Leah Wool as Hänsel and soprano Anya Matanovič as Gretel. Both singers are diminutive in stature and displayed an unaffected playfulness that translated to credibility as youthful siblings. They also matched each other vocally, conveying a sense of tonal purity and stylistic range during the Act I duets. “Brüderchen, komm tanz mit mir” was sung with lighthearted clarity, but “Abends will ich schlafen gehn” became a transcendent, harmonically balanced gem as they revealed the simple lullaby’s emotional depth." Robert Coleman, Opera News

"Playing the two siblings are mezzo- soprano Leah Wool as Hänsel and soprano Anya Matanovic as Gretel. Having these two outstanding singers in the lead roles was a fabulous casting decision. The two sang wonderfully and were utterly credible as the young playful children who get into serious trouble but have enough wits about them to outsmart a wily witch."  Edward Reichel, Reichel Recommends

"Anya Matanovič’s Gretel was so charming and dainty that her often challenging vocals seemed like the genuine playings of an imaginative little girl." Travis Poppleton, Deseret News

"Mezzo-soprano Leah Wool and soprano Anya Matanovic displayed appealing chemistry as Hansel and Gretel on opening night. They played rambunctiously and squabbled like real siblings. Both singers also delivered strong vocal performances." Catherine Reese Newton, Salt Lake Tribune

MADISON OPERA – LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

"The heart of the play is Anya Matanovič as Susanna, who embodies the wry humor and merriment in Mozart’s score. With a nimble, sweet soprano, Matanovic is a joy to watch, kicking her heels as she teases a rival about her age and taunting Figaro with a dramatic love song as he lies panting, “hidden” behind her." Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times

NANNETTA – SEATTLE OPERA

"Most enchanting of all was Anya Matanovic, who spun Nannetta’s Fairy Queen air with such gossamer grace that the audience’s cheers nearly disrupted the act’s momentum." Theodore Deacon, Opera Magazine

"Matanovic sounded ethereal in Nannetta’s offstage “Ninfe! Elfi! Silfi!” then full-bodied and beautiful at center stage in the rest of the scene." Mark Mandel, Opera News

"The young lovers, Nannetta and Fenton, were physically ideal. Anya Matanovic, part of the Young Artists Program in 2005, sang with a lovely, flowing tone and floated her long high notes perfectly." Rod Parke, Seattle Gay News

"As young lovers Nannetta and Fenton, Anya Matanovic and Blagoj Nacoski are as fresh as ingenues in an MGM musical." Gavin Borchert, Seattle Weekly

"Former Seattle Opera Young Artist Anya Matanovic’s silvery soprano was an audience pleaser as Nannetta." Maggie Larrick, Queen Anne News

 CARMINA BURANA – RICHMOND SYMPHONY

"Soprano Anya Matanovic was rich and quite sensual, with Earth Motherly inflections." Clarke Bustard, Letter V

NANNETTA – OPERA CLEVELAND

"Anya Matanovic, last fall’s lovely Gretel at Opera Cleveland, floats Nannetta’s lines with radiant focus and inhabits the girl’s budding womanhood. It’s no wonder she casts a spell on Fenton…" Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer

"Anya Matanović nearly stole the show as Nannetta, with her winsome personality and sparkling soprano. No wonder Fenton was in love with her!" Kelly Ferjutz, CoolCleveland.com

"…the ardent and rapturous duets with Anya Matanovic, his Nannetta, were delightful moments of amorous repose in a sea of turmoil. She actually looked like a teenager and sang her fairy song with limpid purity." Alan Montgomery, Opera News

MUSETTA – ISRAELI OPERA

"The casting was done conscientiously, with the roles assigned suitably to their respective singers, all of whom were vocally well-endowed.  Formidably outstanding was Anya Matanovic, whose rich soprano credibly accomplished Musetta’s transformation from a femme fatale to a genuinely compassionate and devoted friend." Ury Eppstein, The Jerusalem Post

"Anya Matanovic was superb as a colorful Musetta with a beautiful color to her voice and stage charisma." Oran Binur, Maariv

"All the singers are very good but above all are Anya Matanovic as Musetta and Adina Aaron as Mimi." Michael Handelsaltz, Haaretz

"Anya Matanovic was a perfect match for her as Musetta, beautifully altering her voice from the bright, glorious colors in her waltz … to the sensitive expression in the last act." JEHOASH HIRSHBERG, Opera News

GRETEL – OPERA CLEVELAND

"Who couldn’t adore Anya Matanovic’s adorable and shiningly sung Gretel or Patricia Risley’s rambunctious hero of a Hansel? They interacted with sibling-rivalry glee and applied tender beauty to the prayer at the end of Act I." Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer

"Anya Matanoviè’s Gretel also fared well, vocally, and her winsomeness blended nicely with her practicality. Her manic sort of dance in the scene when the witch casts a spell was especially charming, and extra kudos to the soprano as well as the flute soloist in their second act duet. I’ll presume it was the principal…who matched her note for enchanting note!" Kelly Ferjutz, CoolCleveland.com

NANNETTA – SEATTLE OPERA YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

"The emphasis on physicality here wasn’t limited to the corpulent titular character …. Fenton (the ardent tenor Noah Baetge) and Nanetta (given thrilling color by Anya Matanovic’s soprano, especially in her turn as the Fairy Queen) chased about the stage in heat…..Along with Matanovic’s sweetly winning Nanetta….." Thomas May, Crosscut

"Most of the fun and games came from the work of the merry wives, Caitlyn Lynch (Alice Ford), Sasha Cooke (Meg Page), and Teresa Herold (Quickly) and Anya Matanovic (Nannetta). Every scene with them buzzed with good humored back-and-forth teasing, solicitousness, and warmth. Poor Falstaff never had a chance. …. Fenton …. it was clear why he was mooning over Nannetta: Anya Matanovic wasn’t coasting on her good looks and supple soprano — she engaged completely with each scene, really a trick with Nannetta, who’s onstage a lot but not always directly involved……It’s funny: you get a gorgeous young woman with a beautiful voice to sing a brilliant song, and somehow it all comes together." Mike van Baker, It’s like I’m always saying…

PAPAGENA – SANTA FE OPERA

"It is always a pity that we do not see more of Papagena, especially when the role is sung so sweetly as it was by Anya Matanovic." Simon Williams, Opera News

"Joshua Hopkins’ Papageno was delightfully funny and consistently well sung, as was the Papagena Anya Matanovic. I must confess, I am a total sucker for the stuttered Papageno-Papagena recognition scene. When everyone else is merrily laughing, I find myself weeping uncontrollably, it’s so damned unbearably beautiful. Moments like that one are the reason the word “sublime” was invented." Gerald Dugan, Opera West

"Anya Matanovic is a pert, appealing Papagena…" Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News