Marley Isabella Matejka, soprano

Meet Marley

Marley performs on Show 439.

Marley Isabella Matejka (voice), 17, is a lyric coloratura soprano studying at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Marley came to opera from a childhood background in theatre, where she enjoyed playing roles such as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Eva in But the Giraffe and Brundíbar.

After a Montessori school field trip to see The Magic Flute, Marley became enamored with the otherworldly vocals of opera, and at age 12, she began classical training while continuing to perform in school choirs, community theatre, and show choir. During her freshman year, she decided to focus exclusively on classical voice and transferred to Walnut Hill, where she studies with Matthew Anderson, Teresa Winner Blume, and Elaine Smith Purcell.

At Walnut Hill, Marley has performed in several fully staged operas, including Dido and Aeneas, Orpheus in the Underworld, and The Little Prince. As part of her studies, she performed with the Youth Chorale at the New England Conservatory in Boston for two years and currently sings in the school choir under the direction of Cailin Marcel Manson.

In addition to her musical studies, Marley is also passionate about issues of social justice and activism, serving as a Diversity and Inclusion representative for her school and co-founding a student organization dedicated to creating safe, empowering spaces and community for students who self-identify as non-normative or who occupy minority spaces of any kind. She is also the co-leader of Sister to Sister, an affinity group for Black female-identifying students. A senior, Marley is applying to a range of conservatories both in America and abroad.