Bravissimo!

These days, when Diego Matamoros sings, it’s often in the kitchen to an audience of four: his wife and three children. But during his eight-year career as an opera singer, the baritone performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera House and Italy’s Teatro Regio Torino. He received thunderous applause and calls for encores playing such roles as Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. When he lived and worked in Turin, fans would recognize him on the street.

Ten years later, Matamoros is a corporate attorney who works from his suburban Gladwyne home. And if people recognize him in the grocery store, it’s probably because they’re the parents of his children’s classmates.

Matamoros says his singing career seems like “an extended vacation” compared to the time he spends on his current caseload. And he couldn’t be happier.

“I feel blessed to have found a wonderful balance,” says Matamoros, 41, who handles work related to private investment funds and M&A transactions at Pierson Ferdinand, an all-remote firm launched in early 2024. “I love being a parent, and it’s incredibly important to me to get time with my kids every day. The work of an attorney can sometimes feel all-consuming, but working remotely allows me to feel present and engaged with my family, even when work is busy, and to make the most out of opportunities for quality time.”

After a decade away, Matamoros returned to the stage this year, performing a recital to raise funds for Children First, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve life for children by advocating for programs focused on, among other issues, health care and education. It was his first real performance in 10 years or so. The event pulled in $20,000.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be performing again, and to be able to use my talents to support a great organization,” says Matamoros, who is on Children First’s board. “Music will always be part of my life. … My advice to other attorneys is to make room in their practice for their passions and for community involvement. It’s essential to finding that elusive work-life balance.”

Born in Venezuela, Matamoros grew up in Connecticut. Like many other students, he sang in the school chorus, but he didn’t think of himself as a singer.

In high school, he was encouraged to take voice lessons. He also prepared for a life off-stage, graduating from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in French and Italian literature. After earning a master of music from Yale University, his singing career officially began, although he’d already performed on impressive stages, including the Met as an understudy.

But while he enjoyed singing professionally, he was less enamored with the lifestyle. “Even if you are successful, you are living out of a suitcase for 20 to 30 weeks per year,” he says. “It’s difficult to have a more stable life.”

He’d thought about becoming an attorney before, but he didn’t seriously consider it until the 2008 financial crisis. With arts institutions struggling, he took a part-time job at language school to take advantage of his fluency in Spanish, Italian and French. One of his bosses there had considered law school and still had his LSAT study books. He lent them to Matamoros and encouraged him to give law a try.

“There’s a lot of overlap between lawyers and musicians, and opera singers in particular,” he says. “There’s a lot of specialized vocabulary. There are tons of details to learn and remember and regurgitate on command. … Dealing with challenging people is also common in both professions. You have to be very careful of people’s egos.”

It turns out that being a former opera singer is a great conversation starter when you’re a lawyer. “There are a lot of people in this profession who are super into opera,” he says.

It also gives him the opportunity to talk about the importance of musical education. “You don’t have to become a professional singer and perform at the Met for it to be valuable to you,” he says. “It’s lifelong enrichment.”

Matamoros met his wife, Liz Conroy, when he was interviewing for open positions at two Philadelphia firms. She was employed by one of the firms, and she met with Matamoros to tell him how wonderful the workplace was and how it was easy to maintain a work-life balance. Later Matamoros learned she’d also been seeking to join the other firm where he was a finalist.

“She knew I was her competition, and she tried to sell me on the job she wanted to leave so she could take the job I wanted,” Matamoros says with a laugh. “But ultimately we both got hired and became friends and there was a happy ending.”

Matamoros describes their blended family home as “constant energy and excitement,” much of which is generated by their children: Kieran, 10; Esti, 8; and Maisy, 7. Their house is filled with music, he says; his wife is also a performer. “They love her singing,” he says, “but if I even open my mouth, they’ll start screaming to get me to stop.”