Pinchgut Patter with Matthew Greco

August 2026

Welcome back to Pinchgut Patter, our monthly feature where we shine a spotlight on the extraordinary artists and creatives who bring our productions to life.

This month, we're delighted to introduce Matthew Greco, Principal Violin with Pinchgut Opera's acclaimed Orchestra of the Antipodes. Bringing the vibrant sounds of the Baroque to life, Matthew plays a vital role in every Pinchgut performance.

Ahead of our upcoming concert, Coffee and a Dead Canary, we caught up with Matthew to chat about life and what he's looking forward to in our next production.

Read on to get to know one of the musicians helping bring Coffee and a Dead Canary to life.

Tell us what you are up to at the moment?

I’m in the fun but windy Melbourne at the moment performing and rehearsing with the Australian Haydn Ensemble. Last week I was busy presenting a fun program at Christ Church St Laurence with my group, The Muffat Collective. It’s been back-to back projects lately which is always fun and keeps me on the move!

What has you most excited about this upcoming production of Coffee and a Dead Canary.

I’m most excited about playing Bernier’s cantata le Caffe; It's one of my favourite pieces. I used to listen to it a lot on a disc from ABC classic’s Masters of Music series from 2013. It has our friend Sara Macliver singing in it, along with the wonderful baroque violinist Paul Wright and some other lovely musicians from Perth. It's so stylishly French and such a beautiful piece so, It'll be fun to finally have the chance to perform it!

What's your favourite way to spend a day off

Either or all of the following activities: going to the gym, cooking something really delicious in the kitchen that takes a while to prepare, drinking a nice glass of wine with my partner and/or friends.

What’s your favourite book?

IQ84 by Murakami.

If you weren't doing this for a living, what do you think you'd be doing?

Most likely something to do with Psychology. This career has always fascinated me. Or maybe acting haha!

Finally, and most importantly, how do you take your coffee?
Black! Filter coffee is my favourite. Preferably single origin coffee made with the popular coffee brewing technique the 4:6 pour over method. Actually, Anton Baba, our cellist and I are both huge fans of this type of coffee.