Matthew Brook leapt to fame with his 2007 Gramophone Award-winning recording of Handel’s Messiah with the Dunedin Consort, followed by equally critically acclaimed recordings of Acis and Galatea and St Matthew Passion. He has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America and the Far East, and has worked with many of the world's leading conductors. He is now considered one of the finest singers of his generation.
Recent and future highlights include Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas with the Handel and Haydn Society, Bach’s St John Passion with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Haydn’s Creation with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Magnificat and Brahms’ Triumphlied with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Il Re di Scozia Ariodante with the Staatstheater Stuttgart and on tour with the English Concert, Bach’s B minor Mass at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut and with Les Violons du Roy in Québec, Fauré’s Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, a tour of Bach cantatas with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Early Music Vancouver, a tour of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and with Gli Angeli Genève, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at Festival St Denis, and the roles of Herod and Father in Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis.
This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.
Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ (Herod/Father), BBC National Chorus and Orchestra of Wales
Hoddinott Hall (February 2019)
Matthew Brook appeared to embrace the work as opera. He inhabited his dual roles as a malevolent and paranoid Herod and later as a compassionate Ishmaelite father with evident conviction, enjoying his characterisations and seemingly transforming the platform into a stage. His rich baritone wrapped itself with growing torment around his Part 1 soliloquy, and was sung so mellifluously he almost drew our sympathy. Whilst there wasn’t quite enough menace or projection in his lower register, there was enough cutting-edge timbre above and detailed expression to bring off a persuasive performance that seared itself onto the memory.
David Truslove, Opera Today
…three of the soloists featured here had already given the work in Melbourne with Sir Andrew Davis, and the confidence of the singing was indeed exceptional. …Matthew Brook was also superb doubling as the dream-haunted Herod and the welcoming Ishmaelite father… Herod is of course the only character in the story with any opportunity for real operatic passion, and Brook rose to his moments with a real sense of rage.
Paul Corfield Godfrey, Seen and Heard International
Bach Christmas Oratorio, The Choir of Trinity College, Handel Messiah, Polyphony
St John’s Smith Square (December 2018)
Matthew Brook … sang ‘Grosser Herr’ enthusiastically and gave a solid performance of ‘The trumpet shall sound’.
Melanie Eskenazi, MusicOMH
Bach St John Passion (Jesus), St Paul Chamber Orchestra
Cathedral of Saint Paul & Ordway Concert Hall (November 2018)
As Jesus, bass Matthew Brook brought gravitas and dignity, with sonorous tone and immaculately clear diction. Brook's confrontation with the Pontius Pilate of baritone William Berger compelled attention, the two glaring at each other from opposite ends of the Ordway platform in mutual suspicion.
Terry Blain, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Matthew Brook brought a booming bass voice to Jesus that most impressed when he gently soared to the top of his register as death approached.
Rob Hubbard, TwinCities.com
Handel The Triumph of Time and Truth, Instruments of Time & Truth
King’s Place (October 2018)
All the soloists gave their best, and more – but a special shout goes to Matthew Brook, another luminous star of the Baroque repertoire, as a droll and roguish Time. He went the extra mile or ten to inject proper human drama into the clockwork motion of the allegory.
Boyd Tonkin, The Arts Desk****
The English Vocal Revolution, Theatre of the Ayre
York Early Music Festival (July 2018)
Brook conjured a roisterous Falstaffian image in 'Tis Late and Cold, Stoke Up The Fire’.
Martin Dreyer, The York Press
Purcell Fairy Queen, Handel and Haydn Society
NEC Jordan Hall, Boston (April 2018)
Brook was a high point of last year’s “Semele,” and he brought the same powerful, expressive voice and lusty comic relief to this production.
Zoë Madonna, Boston Globe
Bach St Matthew Passion, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Royal Festival Hall (March 2018)
Matthew Brook’s bass was one of the outstanding voices of the evening. His characterisation of Pilate moved between outraged condescension and guilt, and his recitatives were delivered with lucidity and force. “Gerne will Ich mich bequemen” had a dark core that tapped the seam of northern European melancholy which pierces the heart of the Matthew Passion. Some of the most intense emotional ratcheting came in “Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder”, where Brook prowled, wounded, bristling at the violin obbligato – delivered by OAE violinist Michael Gurevich, who lead orchestra two – whose searing lyricism channeled all the guilt and fury of Picander’s text: “Give, O Give me back my Lord,/ See the silver, price of blood, / At your feet in horror pour’d. / By the lost betrayer.”
Benjamin Poore, bachtrack*****
Bach Christmas Oratorio, The Trinity College Cambridge Choir
St John’s Smith Square (December 2017)
Matthew Brook … gave his recitatives solemnity and pathos, and he sang his part in ‘Herr, dein Mitleid’ with the required ardour.
Melanie Eskenazi, MusicOMH****
Haydn The Creation, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall, Birmingham (September 2017)
There was a wonderful empathy from the official trio of soloists (Lydia Teusche, Thomas Hobbs, Matthew Brook).
Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post
Matthew Brook brought story-telling warmth to the bass-baritone roles.
Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph
Mathew Brook was outstanding. His firm, well-focused voice was ideally suited to the music and his diction was impeccable. In Parts I and II he really told his portions of the story vividly, characterising the music in a most engaging way. The characterful aspect of his singing reached its zenith in ‘Straight opening her fertile womb’; here he illustrated the creation of various beasts most entertainingly and in a way that clearly amused the audience … Brook was manly and suave.
John Quinn, Seen and Heard International
Bach St John Passion (Christus), The Dunedin Consort, BBC Prom
Royal Albert Hall, London (August 2017)
Matthew Brook’s Jesus was at times strikingly angry.
Tim Ashley, The Guardian
Authority and presence poured from Matthew Brook's Jesus.
David Nice, theartsdesk.com
The dignified Jesus of Matthew Brook, who similarly used the words to devastating effect and somehow conveyed that he really did mean it. He sang with a trenchant firmness of line, and rather than being other-worldly was wonderfully human.
Robert Hugill, Opera Today
Purcell The Fairy Queen (Drunken Poet), Handel and Haydn Society
Tanglewood (August 2017)
Matthew Brook was especially entertaining as the Drunken Poet, tippling lustily into his first entry.
Hilary Scott, The New York Times
Handel Ariodante (Il Re), The English Concert
Barbican Centre, London (May 2017)
Matthew Brook’s King was beautifully characterised and sung.
Anna Picard, The Times
Plaudits are also due to Matthew Brook for his vivid portrayal of the King – one of Handel’s richest operatic roles for bass.
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph
Matthew Brook found depth of feeling in the role of the King of Scotland.
Richard Fairman, The Financial Times
The vocal line of Matthew Brook’s King was charged with grief…perplexing yet glorious, every life-enhancing minute of it.
Barry Millington, The Evening Standard
Handel Semele (Cadmus/Somnus)
Handel & Haydn Society, Symphony Hall, Boston (May 2017)
The robust bass-baritone Matthew Brook was imposing as Cadmus and hilariously hammy as Somnus. He blinked blearily at the lights overhead during his “Leave me, loathsome light,” and instantly roused himself for a lusty “More sweet is that name”.
Zoë Madonna, The Boston Globe
As Semele’s father Cadmus and the god of sleep Somnus, bass-baritone Matthew Brook brought equal parts command and humor. Cadmus’ aria “Wing’d with our fears, and pious haste” brilliantly conveyed the image of Semele being taken by the eagle. And Somnus’ aria “Leave me, loathsome light” was fittingly lethargic.
Aaron Keebaugh, Boston Classical Review
Handel Ariodante (Il Re), The English Concert
Carnegie Hall, New York & Kennedy Center, Washington DC (April/May 2017)
The solid bass-baritone Matthew Brook, as the king […] was excellent.
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
Matthew Brook plumbed some of the darkest depths of grief in the opera as the King, his luxurious, dark bass-baritone betraying immense pain in his Act II lament ’Invida sorte avara’.
Eric C. Simpson, New York Classical Review
Anyone who thinks baroque opera isn’t relevant had only to see and hear Matthew Brook as the King of Scotland, Ginevra’s father, moving from paternal delight at her impending marriage to anguish when he believes Ariodante dead to horror when he believes Ginevra’s infidelity caused that death. The story line may be dated, but the basic emotions, and the powerful singing, were anything but.
Anne Midgette, The Washington Post
Bach St John Passion, Handel & Haydn Society
Boston Symphony Hall (March 2016)
In bass-baritone Matthew Brook’s forthright performance, Jesus was a strong if enigmatic human presence… Immediately preceding the latter aria, the same two violinists accompanied bass-baritone Brook in a touchingly halting performance of the meditation “Betrachte, meine Seel.” The bass-baritone sounded a more urgent note in the aria “Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen” (Hurry, you tormented souls), in which the rapid choral interjections of “Wohin?” (Where?) were uncannily soft, like echoes of disembodied souls.
David Wright, Boston Classical Review
Bass-baritone Matthew Brook sang the role of Jesus with mellifluous gravity and warm beauty of tone. Although additional singers are often employed for the tenor and bass arias, these were sung by Mulroy and Brook respectively, requiring a shift in character from narrator or active participant to grieving bystander, a role change they both handled convincingly. A highlight of the evening was the bass arioso, “Betrachte, meine Seel” (Ponder, my soul), the jagged intervals of the vocal line accompanied by two muted violins.
Virginia Newes, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
Purcell The Married Beau, The English Concert
Wigmore Hall (September 2016)
Matthew Brook [was] genial and gusty in his arias.
Neil Fisher, The Times
More engaging still was bass-baritone Matthew Brook, a born performer with something of the great Christopher Purves about his tone and dramatisation, in Cardenio's "Let the Dreadful Engines”.
David Nice, theartsdesk.com
Matthew Brook gave us a characterful and delightfully swaggering rogue in When the World first knew creation. A lively Aire and another Hornpipe were followed by Brook's performance of Let the Dreadful Engines, a song in which the singer mistakenly believes his love has rejected him. The result was a highly dramatic sequence, full of free arioso with some lovely bravura moments, as well as charm and quiet passion. Brook really brought out the words, and turned the piece into a real tour de force.
Robert Hugill, planethuggill.com
Cryptic, Fantasy and Madness, Dunedin Consort
Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh (October 2016)
Singers Mhairi Lawson and Matthew Brook – both ruddy-cheeked and grinning suggestively – gave brilliantly vivid performances, full of vocal theatrics, savouring every word for its dramatic potential
David Kettle The Scotsman
Bach St Matthew Passion, Three Choirs Festival
Hereford Cathedral (July 2015)
Bass Matthew Brook brought a shining dignity to his portrayal of Christ.
Stephen Prichard, The Observer
The superlative bass-baritone Matthew Brook as Christ.
Roderic Dunnett, bachtrack.com
Bach St Matthew Passion (1727 Version), York Bach Choir / Peter Seymour
Signum SIGCD385 (June 2015)
The second bass is Matthew Brook, who…firmly captures the dichotomy of articulate precision and dramatic desperation in ‘Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder'.
David Vickers, Gramophone
Handel Messiah, Cardiff Polyphonic Choir 50th Anniversary
St David's Hall, Cardiff (December 2014)
But it was bass Matthew Brook’s vivid projection and the dramatic immediacy he brought that had most impact. His final aria 'The trumpet shall sound' with its instrumental obbligato, Ross Brown on valveless trumpet, was as stirring as Handel intended.
Rian Evans, The Guardian
Bach St John & St Matthew Passions, Seattle Symphony
Benaroya Hall (February 2014)
Matthew Brook had room in the St. John to demonstrate profoundly moving artistry both as Jesus and in the arias.
Bernard Jacobson, The Seattle Times
The rest of the soloists also were impressive, particularly bass-baritone Matthew Brook.
Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times
Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Royal Northern Sinfonia/Zehetmair
The Sage Gateshead (June 2014)
Matthew Brook’s expressive introduction to the Agnus Dei was another highlight.
Jane Shuttleworth, bachtrack.com
Bach St Matthew Passion, Yorkshire Bach Choir & Baroque Soloists
St Michael-le-Belfrey, York (March 2014)
Matthew Brook’s Christus was the backbone of the evening, mightily resilient.
Martin Dreyer, The York Press
Mozart Requiem, Dunedin Consort
Linn Records CKD 449
Matthew Brook's bass responds sonorously to the sounding of the last trumpet in the 'Tuba mirum’.
David Threasher, Gramophone
Bach St John Passion, Britten Sinfonia
Barbican Centre, London (April 2014)
Matthew Brook sang Christus and the bass arias with measured nobility.
George Hall, The Guardian
Bach St Matthew Passion, Soli Deo Gloria
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago (April 2014)
Matthew Brook was eloquent in everything he sang, not least the great aria ‘Gerne will ich mich bequemen’.
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
Bass-baritone Matthew Brook provided worthy vocalism in his solo moments as well.
Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review
Matthew Brook…contributed impressively in [his] solos.
Adam Dahlgren, Splash Magazines
Bach Christmas Oratorio, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Layton)
Hyperion CDA68031/2
Matthew Brook's resplendent all-guns-blazing ‘Grosser Herr'.
Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine
I was most impressed with the soloists, particularly Matthew Brook’s resonant bass.
Graham Lock, Early Music Magazine
Matthew Brook's arias have a most enjoyable vigour.
Carl Rosman, International Record Review
Brahms Requiem, Royal Northern Sinfonia (Thomas Zehetmair)
The Sage, Gateshead (September 2013)
The other soloist, bass Matthew Brook was also excellent, powerful throughout the range and with particularly rich low notes. The bass soloist pleads God to teach us to know that we all have an end, and his words are echoed by the choir; Matthew Brook gave this passage a firm assurance, and with the interesting effect of a master teaching his students who repeat and accept his lesson.
Jane Shuttleworth, bachtrack.com
Matthew Brook sang with wise authority.
Graham Rickson, theartsdesk.com
Handel Esther (Haman), Dunedin Consort
Wigmore Hall, London (April 2013)
As the venomous Haman, Matthew Brook dark bass-baritone registered with malign force, though he also highlighted the sympathy finally allowed the king's official when he is condemned to death.
George Hall, The Guardian
It is Haman who has the first air, “Pluck root and branch from out the land”, and here the commanding bass Matthew Brook established his core vocal strength, to be balanced by the vigorous and perfectly balanced chorus.
Colin Clarke, Seen and Hear International
Handel Messiah, BBC National Orchestra of Wales
St. David’s Hall, Cardiff (December 2012)
But for me two of the most satisfying parts of the evening were given to us by Bass-baritone Matthew Brook whose singing of the Airs "Why do the nations so furiously rage together" and, in particular, "The trumpet shall sound" were memorable indeed.
Peter Collins, The Western Mail
Pilate and bass-baritone soloist (St John Passion), The Three Choirs Festival
Hereford Cathedral (July 2012)
Bowen's lineup of soloists were also strong. Matthew Brook tellingly defined Pilate's dilemma as well as finding a mellifluous flow in the bass arias.
Rian Evans, The Guardian
Matthew Brook was in very fine voice. He sang the recitative part of Pilate intelligently and did his arias very well. . . We got a much better view of Brook’s vocal prowess in Betrachte, mein Seel. Here he could deploy a very pleasing rounded tone and excellent, even legato. He sang the aria warmly and with fine expression. I also enjoyed very much ‘Mein teurer Heiland’ for the same reasons.
John Quinn, Seen and Heard International
Haman (Handel’s Esther - First Reconstructable Version (Cannons), 1720)
The Dunedin Consort/Butt, CD Linn CKD397
Brook’s performance of the villain Haman’s ‘Turn not, O Queen’ transfixes everyone
David Vickers, Gramophone
Brook’s noble singing of Haman’s (futile) plea for mercy to Esther and his admonitory final aria give the oratorio’s villain near-tragic grandeur
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone
Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem, Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner
CD SDG706 (May 2012)
Matthew Brook’s dark-hued baritone is excellent for the role
Calum MacDonald, BBC Music Magazine
The baritone Matthew Brook opens ‘Herr, lehre doch mich’ with a simple eloquence that is very persuasive…The combination of an unaffected solo baritone and period woodwind at ‘Ach, wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen’ is extremely effective...
Nigel Simeone , International Record Review
J. S. Bach, Cantata No. 207
The Dunedin Consort/Butt (May 2012)
The gauzy mystery of this aria, unlike anything else in Bach, was caught by the players with delicate care, and bass Matthew Brook sang with a lovely grave eloquence.
Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph
‘Welt, gute Nacht’ (J.C.Bach), English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner,
CD SDG715, December 2011
Matthew Brook’s powerful, richly-hued Wie bist du den, o Gott with its incredible two-octave vocal range
Charlotte Gardner, Classic FM
The King of Scotland (Ariodante), Il Complesso Barocco/Curtis,
Virgin Classics 0 70844-2, May 2011
The Briton Matthew Brook [...] proves himself an outstanding Handel bass as the King of Scotland
Hugh Canning, International Record Review
Seneca (L’Incoronazione di Poppea),
Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Curtis, June 2011
Only Matthew Brook as Seneca, Anders Dahlin as Ottone and Nicola Marchesini as the Nurse had any real grasp of Monteverdian style
Opera Now
Weber, Der Freischütz, Opera Comique, Paris / Gardiner
April 2011
The singing was first rate...Matthew Brook made an impressive Kouno
James Jolly, Gramophone
Bach, Christmas Oratorio / The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/ Butt
Queen Elizabeth Hall, December 2010
“Brook's baritone realised the greatest variety of expressive tone-colour”
Rhian Evans, The Guardian
“Bach and Beyond”, Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard Tognetti
(Australia, April 2010)
Brook’s agile bass.
Clive O’Connell,The Age
animated; especially Matthew Brook (bass), whose delivery is assertive; commanding, even.
Lloyd Bradford Syke, The Australian Stage
Friar Tuck (Ivanhoe), BBC National Orchestra of Wales/David Lloyd-Jones,
Chandos Records CHAN10578 (January 2010)
“’Ho, jolly Jenkin’… spiritedly tossed off by Matthew Brook.”
John T. Hughes, International Record Review
“vigorous and spirited rendition of “Ho, jolly Jenkin.”
– Faye Courtney, Opera Britannia
“very well-sung by Matthew Brook”
David Laviska, Musical Criticism
Vaughan Williams, Sancta Civitas, Bach Choir/Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/David Hill
Naxos 8.572424 (May 2010)
[Vaughan Williams] would have appreciated these fine soloists, chief among them Matthew Brook, who turns anything he sings to gold.
Stephen Pritchard, The Guardian
There is infinite compassion, in the third movement … from baritone Matthew Brook, whose grainy timbre I can best compare to that of a youthful John Tomlinson
Piers Burton-Page, International Record Review
Handel Messiah, Handel and Haydn Society/Harry Christophers
(Boston Symphony Hall, December 2010)
Tenor Tom Randle and baritone Matthew Brook both had powerful, robust voices that served them well at the most dramatic moments.
David Weininger, The Boston Globe
Matthew Brook Opera Repertoire
| Bernstein | A Quiet Place (Young Sam) |
|---|---|
| Bizet | Carmen (Zuniga) |
| Britten | Albert Herring (Vicar) |
| Handel | Acis and Galatea (Polyphemus) |
| Janáček | Jenufa (Starek) (Mayor) |
| Menotti | Amahl and the Night Visitors (Melchior) |
| Monteverdi | L'incoronazione di Poppea (Seneca) |
| Mozart | Don Giovanni (Leporello) |
| Purcell | Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas) |
| Puccini | Tosca (Sacristan) |
| Rameau | Anacréon (Anacréon) |
| Sullivan | Trial by Jury (Counsel) |
| Tchaikovsky | Eugene Onegin (Onegin) (Zaretsky) |
| Vaughan Williams | The Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan) (Lord Hategood) (Watchful)(Obstinate) and (First Shepherd) |
| Walton | Troilus and Cressida (Antenor, Calkas) |
| Weber | Der Freischütz (Kuno) |
Matthew Brook Concert Repertoire
| Bach | Magnificat including interpolations |
|---|---|
| JC Bach | Wie bist du den O Gott |
| Buxtehude | Jesu membra nostre |
| Beethoven | Mass in C |
| Berlioz | L’Enfance du Christ (all bass/baritone roles) |
| Blow | God spake sometime in visions |
| Blake | Benedictus |
| Brahms | Liebeslieder Waltzes |
| Britten | Cantata Misericordium |
| Burgon | The fall of Lucifer |
| Carissimi | Jephte |
| Charpentier | Caecilia Virgo |
| Dvorak | Mass in D |
| Dyson | Canterbury Pilgrims |
| Elgar | Apostles |
| Faure | Requiem |
| Finzi | In terra pax |
| Grieg | Four Psalms |
| Grier | Around the curve of the world |
| Handel | Acis and Galatea |
| Haydn | Creation |
| Howells | Requiem |
| Janacek | Glagolitic Mass |
| Joubert | The Magus |
| Kodaly | Te Deum |
| Maunder | Olivet to Calvary |
| Mendelssohn | Elijah |
| Mozart | Missa Brevis |
| Monteverdi | Vespers |
| Nielsen | Symphony No. 3 |
| Purcell | In guilty night |
| Anthony Powers | Air and Angels |
| Orff | Carmina Burana |
| Puccini | Messe di Gloria |
| Rameau | In convertendo |
| Rossini | Stabat Mater |
| Stainer | Crucifixion |
| Schütz | Christmas Story |
| Stravinsky | Canticum Sacrum |
| Tippett | A child of our time |
| Vaughan Williams | Benedicite |
| Walton | Belshazzar’s Feast |
