Biography

Matthew Toogood

Praised for his precision of coordination, transparency of sound, and empathy for the musical drama, Matthew Toogood is an experienced opera conductor with a breadth of repertoire that expands the earliest operas through to world premieres. 

With a particular affinity for the late-romantic through to early 20th century repertoire, it was fitting that Matthew Toogood conducted the Swiss Premiere of Szymanowski’s Król Roger at the Konzerttheater Bern, Switzerland in 2019. During his tenure as First Kapellmeister and Musical Director of the Opera ad interim (2019-2021) he led the premieres of Janáček’s Jenůfa, Verdi’s Otello, Smetana’s Die verkaufte Braut, Rossini’s Il barbiere di siviglia, and Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief. Repertoire performances included Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and Bizet’s Carmen. Had it not been for the covid-19 related forced closure of the theatre, he would have conducted Wagner’s Parsifal, Nono’s Intolleranza, and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia too. 

In 2022 Matthew Toogood conducted the World Premiere of Franz Wittenbrink’s Pippi Langstrumpf commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin, where he had previously collaborated with Elena Kats-Chernin for a 2017 rewriting of Monteverdi’s Die Krönung der Poppea, with direction by Barrie Kosky. The success of this production led to him conducting the 2023 German Premiere of Philippe Boesmans’ Poppea e Nerone at Oper Wuppertal. 

The Australian Premiere of Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was prepared and conducted by Matthew Toogood for the Australian Contemporary Opera Company’s (Acoco) 2021 season. 

The World Premiere and subsequent recording release (OMEGA Label) of Vespertine after the Album by Björk was conducted by Matthew Toogood while Kapellmeister at the Nationaltheater Mannheim. During this time (2016-2019) as Kapellmeister and Assistant to the General Music Director (Alexander Soddy), Mr Toogood led the premieres of Spolanski’s Wie werde ich reich und glücklich, and the Cooperation Dance production Sanssouci, which included works based on JS Bach, and Handel’s Dixit Dominus. Revival and repertoire performances in Mannheim included Turandot, Die Liebe zu drei Orangen, Hänsel und Gretel, Aida, Norma, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Carmina Burana, Die lustige Witwe, Orpheus in der Unterwelt, La cenerentola, and My Fair Lady. As assistant Mr Toogood prepared the productions of Elektra, Salome, Der Rosenkavalier, Parsifal, Tannhäuser, and Die Meistersingers von Nürnberg.

As guest conductor, Matthew Toogood conducts the upcoming opening season of the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck with Prokofiev’s Die Liebe zu drei Orangen, and the revival productions of Offenbach’s Orpheus in der Unterwelt and Wittenbrink’s Pippi Langstrumpf at the Komische Oper Berlin. Previous guesting there has included Prokofiev’s Peter und der Wolf, Monteverdi/Kats-Chernin Orpheus, and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, which he was also invited to conduct at the Theater Chemnitz (2017). Further guest engagements have included Puccini’s La Boheme at the Konzerttheater Bern (2019), and assisting Jonathan Nott for Elektra at Théâtre de Géneve, Sir Simon Rattle at the Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Halsey at the Rundfunkchor Berlin, Axel Kober at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and interning at Oper Frankfurt. 

As an educator Matthew Toogood has worked for the University of Melbourne Faculty of Music, Berlin Opera Academy (conducting Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi), accompanying the Bundeswettbewerb Gesangs, and teaching at the Musik Landesakademie Hessen.

As a recipient of the Swiss Richard Wagner Society scholarship, Matthew Toogood conducted a chamber concert in Tribschen (including a re-enactment of Siegfried Idyll), and has won the JS Bach Prize at Melbourne University, was a semi-finalist at the 2011 Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition, and winner of the 2007 Stonnington Symphony Conductor Prize. 

He has participated in Masterclasses with Jorma Panula, Colin Metters, Johannes Fritzsch, Christopher Seaman, Sebastian Lang-Lessing and Geoffrey Lancaster, conducting the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, The Queensland Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He completed his Masters of Music (Conducting) with John Hopkins OBE in 2008.

He has made a number of cross-over classical recordings with the Nationaltheater Mannheim Orchestra, including the operatic world premiere of Björk's Vespertine in collaboration with Hotel Pro Forma and Kommando Himmelfahrt, Synth Happens with Andreas Henneberg, and The Glitz. Matthew has collaborated in alternative musical performances with Friedrich Liechtenstein and Marie Pohl.

For an up to date artist biography in English and German please refer to my managements website here.

Repertoire

* Prepared
+ In preparation