Carrie-ann Matheson

Carrie-Ann Matheson has a multi-faceted international career as pianist, conductor and educator. The newly appointed Artistic Director of the San Francisco Opera Center, she began her tenure in January 2021. A native of Canada, Ms. Matheson began her career at the Metropolitan Opera, where she was a tenured member of the full-time music staff as assistant conductor, prompter, pianist and vocal coach. In 2014 she was invited by General Music Director Fabio Luisi to join the staff at Opernhaus Zürich, which led to the expansion of her performing career in Europe. Especially in demand as a recital pianist, she has performed with many of the world’s most renowned opera singers, including Rolando Villazón, Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczala, Benjamin Bernheim, Diana Damrau, and Joyce DiDonato.
Performances in the 2020/21 season include recitals with Joyce DiDonato at the Festival de El Escorial, Festival de Santander, and the virtual Metropolitan Opera recital series, with Benjamin Bernheim at the Salzburger Festspiele, Le Festival de Paris and Philharmonie de Luxembourg, and a recital with Jonas Kaufmann at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (rescheduled due to Covid-19). With Pene Pati, she performs as part of Les Grandes Voix recital series with performances at Salle Gaveau in Paris and at the Opéra national de Bordeaux (rescheduled due to Covid-19).
In addition to her work with opera singers, she has performed in chamber music concerts with members of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Philharmonia Zürich. Ms. Matheson assisted such renowned conductors as James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Gianandrea Noseda, before making her conducting debut in 2015 at Opernhaus Zürich, where she has conducted works such as La Finta Giardiniera, Don Pasquale and Iphigénie en Tauride, among others.
Ms. Matheson has also been engaged by prominent festivals such as the Salzburger Festspiele and the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival.
Passionate about nurturing the next generation of opera singers and pianists, Ms. Matheson devotes a portion of her time to the development of emerging artists, and has worked with the International Opera Studio (Opernhaus Zürich), Atkins Young Artist Program (The Mariinsky Theatre), Lindemann Young Artist Development Program (The Metropolitan Opera), Ryan Opera Center (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival and the International Vocal Arts Institute. In addition, she maintains an active private coaching studio, and stays connected with the community of young opera professionals via her social media presence (@carrieannmatheson).
Ms. Matheson holds degrees from the University of Prince Edward Island (B.Mus.Ed), the Cleveland Institute of Music (M.Mus in Collaborative Piano), the Manhattan School of Music (Professional Studies Diploma in Vocal Accompanying) and is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s renowned Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.