Matthew Worth to premiere "Doubt" as Father Flynn

Matthew Worth strikes his Father Flynn pose
2012 (c) Aleutian Calabay for Minnesota Opera

The Minnesota Opera is presenting the world premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo’s opera Doubt, which opens on January 26th and runs through February 3rd. The libretto was written by playwright John Patrick Shanley, who based it on his Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The opera was commissioned by Minnesota Opera in collaboration with the Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. The opera is part of the opera company’s New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works.

Matthew Worth on playing Father Flynn in Doubt:

The premiere of Doubt will feature Matthew Worth as Father Flynn, who is accused of inappropriate behavior with a young African-American student. Soprano Christine Brewer will sing the role of the school principal Sister Aloysius, who makes the accusations and sets the drama in motion at the Bronx-based Roman Catholic in 1964. The young, idealistic Sister James will be played by Adriana Zabala and the boy's mother by mezzo Denyce Graves. Other than a chorus and a children's chorus, these are the only vocal roles. The opera will be conducted by Christopher Franklin and directed by Kevin Newbury. Tickets are available online.

Matthew Worth on Mozart and modern American opera:

Matthew Worth returns to the Minnesota Opera after a successful run as Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte in the 2011-12 season. After Doubt he'll return to the role of Guglielmo on March 15th with the Boston Lyric Opera. On April 4th and 6th, he returns to Opera Memphis to partake in the Midtown Opera Festival in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. This is his third world premiere, as he created the role of William Shrike in Lowell Liebermann's Miss Lonelyhearts with the Juilliard Opera and the Coachman in Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good at Glimmerglass Opera, which was recorded for Naxos.

Matthew Worth talks about the music of Doubt:

The play Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, won both the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play. In 2008, Shanley wrote and directed the motion picture adaptation of Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Adapted Screenplay nod for Shanley. 

Matthew Worth talks about some other projects: