When soprano Valerie Eickhoff canceled her debut with Matinée Musicale on about three days notice last week due to illness, it was sheer luck that another singer was available to step in. And conveniently, he lives in Cincinnati. Baritone Elliot Madore wowed the audience on Sunday evening in Memorial Hall with a wide-ranging program that opened with the Liederkreis Op. 39 by Schumann and ended with Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Boy Bill.”

Madore is a star who is busy singing in opera houses around the world while he is also teaching the stars of the future at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His collaborative pianist was CCM professor Donna Loewy, who had never played with him before. Madore joined the faculty in August of 2021, and we learned later that this was his Cincinnati recital debut.

Their program, which also included songs by Manuel de Falla, Ravel and Charles Ives, was so well prepared, you’d never guess that they had so little time. (Loewy had already prepared a totally different program for Eickhoff, who was to have made her U.S. debut with this series.)

Madore’s Schumann was as ardently expressive, polished and beautifully enunciated as one could wish for. He was comfortable throughout his range, with a top register that was nuanced and quite beautiful.

After a brief intermission, the duo returned with Seven Popular Spanish Songs of 1914 by de Falla, a set of charming Spanish songs rich in Spanish rhythms, atmosphere and color. Madore’s interpretations were inventive and full of personality. I especially enjoyed “Jota,” in which the piano glissandos reminded me of “Nights in the Gardens of Spain,” a lush work the composer wrote a year later.

It was a treat to hear those songs paired with Ravel’s “Don Quichotte à Dulcinée.” The singer added some cheerful acting to the “Chanson à boire” — drinking song.

Between sets, Madore spoke engagingly about his program to listeners. He concluded with a set of Ives songs, which included “The Side Show” and “Memories.” There were more crowd-pleasers to come. In a departure from art song, Madore brought terrific character to “My Boy Bill,” the Soliloquy from Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel.” With a standing ovation from the appreciative audience, he concluded with “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen” (known as Pierrot’s Tanzlied) from Korngold’s “Die tote Stadt” (The Dead City). Loewy was a superb partner throughout this varied program.

On Saturday, the baritone performs in a special May Festival concert at Knox Church (sold out).

Madore, a native of Canada, was the grand prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions and the 2010 George London Award for a Canadian Singer from the George London Foundation.

Matinée Musicale concludes its season on May 7 with the charismatic piano duo Silver-Garburg, 3 p.m. at Anderson Hills United Methodist Church (note the venue change). Tickets: 513-977-8838 or visit matineemusicalecincinnati.org.