Matos was born in Braga, Portugal, where she studied singing and violin at the local conservatory. Later, she moved to Madrid, Spain, where she finished her studies at the Madrid School of Singing with a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation to complete his training with Ángeles Chamorro, Marimí del Pozo, Félix Lavilla and Miguel Zanetti. She debuted as Frasquita (Carmen) at the Coliseu do Porto with C. P. O.
After her debut at the Hamburg Opera as Alice Ford (Falstaff) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), a role she sang again in Lisbon, Las Palmas and Santander, in 1997, she participated in the inauguration of the Teatro Real de Madrid, playing Marigaila in the world premiere of the opera Divinas Palabras, by Antón García Abril, alongside Plácido Domingo, who immediately invited her to debut in the role of Dolly at the Washington Opera, in a new production of Sly, by Wolf-Ferrari, with José Carreras as the protagonist. She then performed the same role at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Japan (with the Washington Opera) and at the Rome Opera, this time with Plácido Domingo in the cast.
She played, among other roles, Chimène in Le Cid, by Jules Massenet, at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and at the Washington Opera, with Plácido Domingo as Rodrigue; the protagonist of Margarita la Tornera, also with Domingo, at the Teatro Real in Madrid; Elsa in Lohengrin, in her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Mimí in La Bohème, at the Teatro de São Carlos in Lisbon; La Voix Humaine, at the Teatro da Maestranza in Seville, at the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao, in Jerez de la Frontera and at the Teatro de Córdoba; Zazà, at the Teatro Regio in Turin and the Opéra in Nice; Elisabetta di Vallois, in a new production of Don Carlo at the Teatro Real in Madrid, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon and in Palermo; La Battaglia di Legnano, at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania; Freia in Das Rheingold, in Turin, Rome Opera and Barcelona; the titular role of Suor Angelica, at the Palau de la Música in Valencia; Tosca, at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, in Cyprus (with the Verona Arena), at the Coliseum in Porto, at the Teatro de Messina, at the Macerata Festival in Tokyo, Lisbon, Cardiff (with the Welsh National Opera) and Santiago de Chile; La Vida Breve, in Lisbon; Amelia Grimaldi by Simon Boccanegra, at the Teatro Real and in Catania; Sieglinde in Die Walküre, in the Maestranza, Centro Cultural de Belém and Liceu de Barcelona; Der Fliegende Holländer, in Naples, Seville, Madrid and Los Angeles; Katia Kabanova and Els Pirineus, at the Liceu de Barcelona; Madame Lidoine from The Dialogues of the Carmelites, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, directed by Riccardo Muti; the titular role of La Dolores, at the Teatro Real in Madrid; Gutrune (Götterdämmerung) and Rosa (Gaudí) at the Liceu de Barcelona; Amelia from Ballo in maschera in Naples and Bari; Countess of Capriccio, at the Belém Cultural Center; Santuzza of Cavalleria Rusticana, in São Carlos de Lisboa and San Carlo de Nápoles; Abigaille (Nabucco), in Toulon, at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper and at the Tel-Aviv Opera; the protagonist of Norma, at the Mérida Festival and at the Teatro Villamarta de Jerez; Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, at the Liceu de Barcelona; the main role of Iphigénie en Tauride, at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo and at the Liceu in Barcelona; Turandot, in Antwerp, Ghent, Jerez de la Frontera, Valencia, at the Palau de les Arts, under the baton of Lorin Maazel, Oviedo and Beijing (directed by Maestro Daniel Oren) and Santiago de Chile; La Gioconda, in Tokyo and Rome; Minnie from La Fanciulla del West, in Lucca (with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) and at the New York Metropolitan Opera; Gutrune (Götterdämmerung), with Zubin Metha, and Cassandre (Les Troyens), with Valery Gergiev, both at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia and Lady Macbeth, at the Rhine National Opera (Strasbourg).
She made her debut with great success as Isolda (Tristan und Isolde) at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo; her debut in Vienna in the role of Abigaille (Nabucco) and at the Los Angeles Opera (Senta – Der Fliegende Holländer), under the baton of James Conlon; Irene (Rienzi) at the Liceu de Barcelona (a role that had already debuted at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York) and with the Odyssey Opera in Boston. After her great success as Minnie (La Fanciulla del West) at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, she returned there in 2012 in the role of Abigaille and in 2013 as Tosca, a role she also performed at the Daegu International Festival (South Korea) with the Salerno Opera, directed by Maestro Daniel Oren. Also with Daniel Oren he played Turandot at the NCPA in Beijing.
Later, she played Le Roi Arthus in Strasbourg; La Gioconda at the São Carlos National Theater; Turandot in Chile, Lisbon, Berlin Opera and Toulouse Capitole; Tosca in Palermo and Tristan und Isolde in Toulouse. She finally added the role of Brunhilde (Walküre) to her repertoire at Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, with great success. Other premiers include Giorgetta by Tabarro (Puccini) and Magdalena by Andrea Chenier (Giordano), both sung at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, directed by Antonio Pirolli.
In addition to operatic theaters, Elisabete Matos frequently performs in concert halls Lied and symphonic concertos, in a vast repertoire that ranges from Bach to contemporary music. Highlights include a recital of Russian songs at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and at the A Coruña Festival; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Cagliari, conducted by Lorin Maazel, at the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, under the direction of López Cobos, and at Gulbenkian; El sobrero de tres picos by Manuel de Falla, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim; a concert of Mozart arias with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Giuliano Carella; Offrandes, from Varèse, directed by C. Walmar; and the Wesendonck Lieder in Lisbon, etc. In March 2001, he participated with Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Mariella Devia, among other renowned singers, in the concert that Zubin Mehta conducted in Parma in memory of Verdi, and which was broadcast throughout the world.
He performed the World Premiere of the work The Sun Danced, by James Macmillan for Soprano and Orchestra and Symphony No. 3 by Górecki to close the Marian Year celebrations, with the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra, directed by Maestro Joana Carneiro at the Sanctuary of Fátima and at the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Wesendonck Lieder with the Algarve Classical Orchestra, conducted by Rui Pinheiro.
She recorded Suppé’s Requiem with the Choir and Orchestra of the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, under the direction of Michel Corboz, for Virgin Classics; and Margarita la Tornera, by R. Chapí, for RTVE, with Plácido Domingo. Also with Domingo, he recorded Massenet’s opera Le Cid on DVD with the Washington Opera. El sobrero de tres picos, by Manuel de Falla, was released on DVD, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. He also recorded Les Troyens (Cassandre), in a production of La Fura dels Baus at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia, conducted by Valery Gergiev. With the Liceu de Barcelona he recorded Wagner’s tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung, playing the roles of Gutrune, Freia and Dritte Norne.
She was awarded a Grammy in 2000 for recording the title role in La Dolores, by Bretón, with Plácido Domingo, for Decca.
Elisabete Matos was decorated as Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the Hon. Mr President of the Portuguese Republic, Doctor Jorge Sampaio; was awarded the Gold Medal for Artistic Merit of the City of Guimarães by the Mayor, Doctor António Magalhães; She was then decorated as Grand Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the Hon. Mr President of the Portuguese Republic, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva.
She received the medal of Favorite Daughter of Vila de Caldas das Taipas, awarded by the parish council; the medal from the Rotary Club of Caldas das Taipas and the medals of honor from the Grémio Literário and Sociedade Eça de Queirós.
She was awarded several prizes in national and international competitions, such as the Luísa Todi Singing Competition, the Vienna Belvedere, among others. She received the Lola Rodriguez de Aragón award, the Lyons Italian Lyric award, the “Femina 2012” award and the Voice of the Year 2012 award.
She was distinguished with the “Maria Isabel Barreno” Women Creators of Culture award and the Medal for Artistic Merit, awarded by the State Secretariat for Culture.
She is a Guest Professor at ESART at Castelo Branco Polytechnic Institute.
Elisabete Matos was the first woman to assume the Artistic Directorship of the São Carlos National Theater (Lisbon).
Matos is member of the General Council of the University of Minho.