Dominica Matthews

Mezzo Soprano

Australian-born Dominica Matthews is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, UK and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.  She was an Ian Potter Foundation Grant recipient in 2003-2004 and winner of the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award at RNCM.

Dominica is currently a Senior Principal Artist with Opera Australia and has established herself as one of Australia’s best-loved and prolific singers. In 2022/2023, she sang Berta (The Barber of Seville) and Flosshilde/Schwertleite (Der Ring des Nibelungen) for the national company, Belle in A Christmas Carol for Victorian Opera and Verdi’s Requiem for Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, she returns to OA as Madame de la Haltière (Cinderella), The Baroness (Candide) and Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro).

Past appearances for Opera Australia have included the title roles in La Cenerentola and Orlando, Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mallika in Lakmé, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana, Flora in La traviata, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Tessa in The Gondoliers, Eunice Hubble in A Streetcar Named Desire, Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), Maddalena/Giovanna (Rigoletto), Lucienne (Die tote Stadt), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Madame Larina (Eugene Onegin), Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann and Sonyetka in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

Her performance as Sonyetka saw her win the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera. Her work as Nicklausse and Madame Larina brought her Green Room Awards in 2007 and 2015 respectively for Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera.

Engagements overseas have included the title role in La Cenerentola, La Principessa in Suor Angelica, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress.

As alto soloist, Dominica has sung for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia, Orchestra Victoria and Royal Melbourne Philharmonic in works such as Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle; for Sydney Symphony, she starred in The Gilbert & Sullivan Spectacular.

Other recent appearances include Sister Berthe in the national tour of The Sound of Music and Cavalleria rusticana, Krol Roger, La traviata, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wozzeck, Andrea Chenier, The Merry Widow, Le nozze di Figaro, Faust, La traviata and Eugene Onegin for Opera Australia, Schwertleite (Die Walküre) in Singapore and Messiah performances in Sydney and Melbourne.