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Possessing a “vibrant stage presence and a rich, commanding voice” (La Scena Musicale), bass Matthew Li is a proud graduate of the Atelier lyrique de Opéra de Montréal. His operatic roles include Leporello, Masetto and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dulcamara in Elisir d’amore, Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, and Colline in La Bohème. Concert highlights include the bass solos in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Handel’s Messiah, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, and Mozart’s Requiem, and Bach’s Missa Brevis in A. He recently appeared with the Toronto Consort. An ardent collaborator with contemporaries, Li created the leading bass-baritone role of Xon Pon in Alice Ping Yee Ho and Madeleine Thien’s opera Chinatown (2022) with City Opera Vancouver in its world premiere, to critical acclaim. He also most recently premiered a new song cycle titled Triptych (2024) by Roydon Tse in Montréal. In the 2025-2026 season, Li will take on the title role in The Lion Heart (2022) by Corey Arnold.
The 2025-2026 season sees Li making a return to Opéra de Montréal to sing Masetto in Don Giovanni. He will also make his debuts with Pacific Opera Victoria as Sciarrone in Tosca, with the Choeur Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes as A Mandarin in Turandot, and with the Ottawa Choral Society, singing both the roles of Raphael and Adam in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung.