After leaving Dresden in 1958, Matačić strengthened his ties to Vienna, debuted at the Bayreuth Festival where he also started a long-term collaboration with opera director and Richard Wagner's grandson, Wieland Wagner. He finally travelled to the United States, where he performed at the Chicago Opera. Matačić won over the Italian audience, too - in 1961 at the Rome Opera he performed Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung". In 1961 in Frankfurt he became the chief conductor of the municipal opera and the prestigious series of Museum Concerts.