Richmond alumnus is 'Don Giovanni'

Richmond alumnus Matthew Worth was recently cast in the lead role in the Virginia Opera production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni."

Worth, Richmond College '00, grew up in a home filled with music. His mother played the piano and he sang in church choirs.

Worth originally came to the University of Richmond to audition for a trombone position in the jazz band during his senior year of high school, he said. The music department held auditions for all musicians simultaneously, so the entire faculty would attend, said Jennifer Cable, an associate professor of music. At the end of his trombone audition, Worth mentioned that he could sing, and performed "The Vagabond" by Ralph Vaughan Williams, she said.

After three notes, Cable turned to her colleague, professor Jeffrey Riehl, and they both agreed that he should be singing, she said. He still participated in the jazz band while at Richmond, but his music major had a voice concentration.

While at Richmond, Worth also served on the Judicial Council, was a co-chairman of the orientation committee and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Social activities sometimes clashed with his vocal studies, Worth said.

"I remember having my ear-training exam with Suzanne Bunting, chair of the music department freshman year," Worth said. "She said: 'Matt, that's wonderful. I hope you decide next year to come back to major in music and not social life.'"

Some of his professors also noticed his challenge when it came to balancing his multiple activities.

"Matt had competing interests which were very prominent in his life," Cable said. His level of dedication dramatically increased after graduation, she said.

"It wasn't until I graduated that Dr. Cable said, 'All right Matt, you have this talent and you've been fostering it for four years, and so it's time for you to go on and see what you can do with it,'" Worth said.

Instead of immediately applying for graduate school, he took a year off to prepare his voice and repertoire for auditions. He lived in the Fan and rode his bike to campus for weekly voice lessons with Cable, and to work on campus.

"Kathy Panoff gave me a job working in the box office," he said. "It was enough to buy rice and beans and a lesson from Dr. Cable once a week."

The following year, Worth was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music, a competitive program, Riehl said.

"Graduate school was for me an eye-opening experience about the dedication it takes to make a career," Worth said.

After completing graduate school, Worth tried out for a spot in the Juilliard Opera Center, which was even more competitive than the Manhattan School.

"There were maybe two spots for a baritone," Cable said. "Graduate school and JOC gave him time to let his voice just develop."

Language and diction were huge components of both programs, Worth said.

"I spent some time with Russian and Italian Rosetta Stones, but really the diction and language classes through all those years paid off," he said. Students typically learn, at

minimum, Italian, French and German, Riehl said. Richmond students are expected to sing in at least two languages besides English during their senior year recital, but it is in graduate programs that opera singers really develop the language, he said.

Opera performers must also learn to dance, Worth said.

"I can't dance on a Friday night to save my life, but I can waltz and do the minuet on occasion," he said. Along with dancing, performers need to possess a strong stage presence, Riehl said.

"He has a look," Riehl said. "He's tall, he's good on stage and he has a good work ethic. I have every reason to believe that his career will continue to develop, if not in regional opera houses, in certainly some of the bigger ones - Chicago, San Francisco, perhaps even

abroad."

His lyric baritone voice adapts well to different repertoire, Cable said.

"He is a very sensitive performer," she said, "so when you hear him sing, you are very moved. That's in part because he brings himself to it. There is a deep sincerity in Matthew's performance, and that comes across the stage."

Cable and Riehl saw Worth perform last summer in Castelton, Va., in "The Rape of Lucretia." Both were moved to tears, she said.

Worth is returning to campus on April 11 to perform in Handel's "Messiah" as a soloist.

"This year I decided that, since Matt's career is going so well, it would be fun to give him the opportunity," Riehl said.

Students from other choral groups on campus will be performing in the piece alongside professional soloists, Cable said. Worth said he had wanted to come back to Richmond for a long time.

"I have real admiration for the way Dr. Riehl conducts," Worth said, "so I'm really excited."

Worth has contracts set up for the next two years, he said, and his lifestyle requires a lot of moving.

"Any time with family and friends is limited because you're going from place to place," he said. "Every month or two you're going somewhere else. I'm probably spending 10 months a year on the road, so that's hard, but there is a community and you get to see these familiar faces."

"Don Giovanni" opens at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, Va. After four shows it will move to George Mason University's Center for the Arts in Fairfax, Va., followed by two shows at the Carpenter Theatre in Richmond, Va. in March. All dates, times and ticket information can be found on the Virginia Opera Web site.

Contact staff writer Leigh Donahue at leigh.donohue@richmond.edu.