Countertenor Corner
  • Blog
  • About
  • Countertenor Profiles
    • A >
      • Christopher Ainslie >
        • Christopher Ainslie Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Christopher Ainslie Discography
        • Christopher Ainslie YouTube Videos
      • Jake Arditti >
        • Jake Arditti Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Jake Arditti YouTube Videos
    • B >
      • Daniel Bubeck >
        • Daniel Bubeck Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Daniel Bubeck YouTube Videos
    • C >
      • Max Emanuel Cencic >
        • Max Emanuel Cencic Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Max Emanuel Cencic Discography
        • Max Emanuel Cencic YouTube Videos
    • D >
      • Patrick Dailey >
        • Patrick Dailey Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Patrick Dailey YouTube Videos
      • Iestyn Davies >
        • Iestyn Davies Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Iestyn Davies Discography
        • Iestyn Davies YouTube Videos
      • Christophe Dumaux >
        • Christophe Dumaux Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Christophe Dumaux Discography
        • Christophe Dumaux YouTube Videos
    • E >
      • Matteo El Khodr >
        • Matteo El Khodr Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Matteo El Khodr YouTube Videos
      • Rupert Enticknap >
        • Rupert Enticknap Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Rupert Enticknap YouTube Videos
    • F >
      • Franco Fagioli >
        • Franco Fagioli Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Franco Fagioli Discography
        • Franco Fagioli YouTube Videos
      • Flavio Ferri-Benedetti >
        • Flavio Ferri-Benedetti Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Flavio Ferri-Benedetti Discography
        • Flavio Ferri-Benedetti YouTube Videos
    • G >
      • Damien Guillon >
        • Damien Guillon Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Damien Guillon Discography
        • Damien Guillon YouTube Videos
    • H >
      • David Hansen >
        • David Hansen Articles, Websites & Resources
        • David Hansen Discography
        • David Hansen YouTube Videos
      • John Holiday >
        • John Holiday Articles, Websites & Resources
        • John Holiday YouTube Videos
      • Ian Howell >
        • Ian Howell Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Ian Howell Discography
        • Ian Howell YouTube Videos
    • J >
      • Philippe Jaroussky >
        • Philippe Jaroussky Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Philippe Jaroussky Discography
        • Philippe Jaroussky YouTube Videos
    • K >
      • Kangmin Justin Kim >
        • Kangmin Justin Kim Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Kangmin Justin Kim YouTube Videos
      • Robert Kuizenga >
        • Robert Kuizenga Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Robert Kuizenga YouTube Videos
    • L >
      • Christopher Lowrey >
        • Christopher Lowrey Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Christopher Lowrey Discography
    • M >
      • Tim Mead >
        • Tim Mead Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Tim Mead Discography
        • Tim Mead YouTube Videos
      • Bejun Mehta >
        • Bejun Mehta Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Bejun Mehta Discography
        • Bejun Mehta YouTube Videos
      • Filippo Mineccia >
        • Filippo Mineccia Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Filippo Mineccia Discography
        • Filippo Mineccia YouTube Videos
      • Yuriy Minenko >
        • Yuriy Minenko Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Yuriy Minenko YouTube Videos
    • O >
      • Tai Oney >
        • Tai Oney Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Tai Oney YouTube Videos
    • T >
      • Michael C Taylor >
        • Michael C Taylor Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Michael C Taylor YouTube Videos
    • S >
      • Valer Sabadus >
        • Valer Sabadus Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Valer Sabadus Discography
        • Valer Sabadus YouTube Videos
      • Xavier Sabata >
        • Xavier Sabata Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Xavier Sabata Discography
        • Xavier Sabata YouTube Videos
      • Randall Scotting >
        • Randall Scotting Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Randall Scotting Discography
        • Randall Scotting YouTube Videos
    • W >
      • Ben Williamson >
        • Ben Williamson Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Ben Williamson YouTube Videos
      • Terry Wey >
        • Terry Wey Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Terry Wey Discography
        • Terry Wey YouTube Videos
    • Y >
      • Vince Yi >
        • Vince Yi Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Vince Yi YouTube Videos
    • Z >
      • Lawrence Zazzo >
        • Lawrence Zazzo Articles, Websites & Resources
        • Lawrence Zazzo Discography
        • Lawrence Zazzo YouTube Videos
  • Contact

Matteo El Khodr

Matteo El Khodr is a Parisian-based countertenor looking to bring opera to his native Lebanon, and to younger audiences. He has recorded and performed both pop and classical music, and is the only countertenor on the world stage from the Middle East.

Return to Countertenor Profiles

home > countertenor profiles > matteo el khodr

Since he was a little boy, Matteo has always been attracted by things that weren't interesting for other boys of his age: theatre, drama, old black and white movies, old books of his grandparent's library, old discs of old Egyptian singers and divas, and classical music and opera. Seeing this attraction to arts, his parents always backed him up. He was taught to play piano during years, and started imitating voices he was hearing: Carmen from Bizet, Violetta from La Traviata (Verdi), Leonora from La Forza del destino (Verdi), Il Barbier di Siviglia (Rossini), slept listening to Magnificat (Bach) and woke up on the Requiem (Mozart) and the Gloria (Vivaldi).

When he turned 17, he was singing with this same child voice, this same thin voice who was becoming more and more deep, round, mature. He didn't know it but he became a countertenor, a rare male voice, a heritage from the castrati voices from the 17th century in Italy!

Due to luck, coincidences, and fate, Matteo found himself at age 18 signing a huge contract with Universal Music France and moved there to learn music, to become an opera singer, to travel and sing on the biggest stages of Europe.

He released his first album "Matteo Haute-Contre", a "Thank You" album to all the inspirations who led him to fulfill his destiny: Bach, Bellini, Vivaldi, Purcell, Verdi...

After a big tour in Europe, singing for the Communauté Européene de Bruxelles, to the Queen of Belgium, to Vienna, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Paris, London, Verona...and Lebanon (Festival de Beiteddine), and several masterclasses with Andreas Scholl, Robert Expert, Fabrice di Falco, Matteo entered the Ecole Normale Superieure de Musique in the class of Agnes Mellon, soprano of Les Arts Florissants (William Christie) and wife of Dominique Visse, famous french countertenor, in the department of the vocal perfection: baroque era and composers. 

In September 2011, Matteo integrated the Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris (Solo Alto-countertenor) and is scheduled to perform in Salle Pleyel all year long: Gloria (Poulenc), Daphnis et Chloé (Ravel), Peer Gynt (Grieg) and solo masterpieces of oratorios: Semele (Haendel), Juditha Triumphans (Vivaldi) under the direction of the composers: Daniel Baremboim, Paavo Jarvi, James Colon, Ricardo Chailly.

In Christmas, he did the final concerts in two sacred festivals, the Festival of Saint-Chapelle in Paris and the Beirut Chants Festival of Sacred music.

In 2012 invited to sing in Munich's Gasteig Carl-Orff hall, and won the public price in the famous Concours International de Chant Baroque de Froville, then is Mandane in the production of Artaserse by Leonardo Vinci, with Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic, Franco Fagioli under the direction of M.Diego Fasolis and Concerto Koln in l'Opera National de Lorraine (Nancy, France).

In 2014 and 2015, Matteo has the title role of Hyacintus in Mozart's first opera: Apollo Und Hyacintus with les Folies Francoises in La Cité de La Musique in Paris.
© Matteo El Khodr

Articles, Reviews & Websites

Picture

Discography

Picture

YouTube Videos