‘A Night at the Opera’ - Head of Music OA and Conductor; Tahu Matheson

Tahu Matheson has worked for Opera Australia since 2007. He became Head of Music for the company in 2017. He studied piano with Kalle Randalu in Germany, and with Oleg Stepanov and Natasha Vlassenko at the Queensland Conservatorium, where he completed his Master of Music. He is a frequent accompanist for international artists including Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Anthony Dean Griffey, Yvonne Kenny and Emma Matthews. His Opera Australia repertoire includes - Conductor of Tosca, L’elisir d’amore, The Magic Flute and The Pearlfishers at Sydney Opera House; Aida on the Beach and tours of Don Giovanni. Tahu was Assistant Conductor of the Ring Cycle, Bliss, Falstaff, Otello, Rigoletto, Carmen, Capriccio, Of Mice and Men, The Barber of Seville, Lucia di Lammermoor, Werther, The Magic Flute, La Bohème, La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, La sonnambula, Orpheus in the Underworld, A Streetcar Named Desire, Billy Budd and Don Giovanni. For other companies Tahu has conducted Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins for Victorian Opera. This work was paired with the premiere of a new work by four Australian Composers, of the same name, but with updated subject matter and music. Tahu has conducted many concerts including a concert performance of a new opera, Nelson, by Stuart Greenbaum in London, and a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for 4MBS Radio in Brisbane. He recently made his debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Tahu performed the Rachmaninov Preludes Op 23 and the world premiere of Ten Concert Studies for Piano, written for him by Edwin Carr (New Zealand International Festival of the Arts – recorded on CD for international release by Kiwi Pacific Records). Tahu has been a soloist in the major concert venues throughout Australia and New Zealand, toured for Musica Viva and Chamber Music New Zealand, and been broadcast on New Zealand and Australian radio and television. Through November and December Tahu Matheson conducts Opera Australia’s brand new, Sydney-exclusive open-air event, Opera on Cockatoo Island, with a gritty new production of Bizet’s much-loved Carmen, giving visitors a thrilling opportunity to experience world-class opera under the stars with stunning harbour views. STAGES caught up with Tahu at his place of work - Opera Australia - to discover what’s in store for audiences attending Carmen, and the gateway through which he discovered his passion for telling big stories on the Operatic stage. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au