Eun Sun Kim Makes San Francisco Opera Debut of "Astonishing Vibrancy and Assurance"

June 28, 2019

Photo by Cory Weaver

Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim has earned widespread critical acclaim for her house debut at San Francisco Opera, where she leads a Rusalka cast that includes Rachel Willis-Sorensen, Jamie Barton, Brandon Jovanovich, and Kristinn Sigmundsson.

Read reviews:

“Magnificent musical values on display from top to bottom. Presiding over everything, in a company debut of astonishing vibrancy and assurance, was conductor Eun Sun Kim, who drew glorious playing from the Opera Orchestra and paced every scene freely but precisely.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“In her San Francisco Opera debut, conductor Eun Sun Kim assuredly drew splendid playing from an ensemble that proved its versatility (the instrumentalists spent the prior night playing Baroque). She brought forward the music’s visceral quality laying deep under the folkloric connotations. More, she succeeded to balance Wagnerian-like statements with subtle invocations of Mendelssohnian delicacy.”
Bachtrack

“A detailed and beautifully paced interpretation of the lovely score. Dvorak must have been thinking of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" for his passionate final duet between the Prince and Rusalka, and he was probably aiming for some Verdian flavor with scenes between the water nymph and her Water Goblin dad (think "Rigoletto") and appearances by the hideous witch Jezibaba ("Il Trovatore"). Regardless of theatrical influences, Eun Sun Kim underscored [Dvorak’s] unmistakable musical sound with sympathetic support from the orchestra.”

Bay Area Reporter

“A gripping company debut, bringing out the Czech pulse and phrasing under a shiny surface of supple orchestral playing. The Korean-born artist maintained impeccable balances with all the singers and kept the score unfolding with a sense of inevitability. She wrangled the big cast into a cohesive, propulsive engine.”

Seen and Heard International

“Kim draws warm incisive playing from the orchestra, adding to the dramatic impact and underpinning the moving final scene…”

Classical Voice

“Lush, accessible, frequently moving. The dependable San Francisco Opera orchestra, conducted by Eun Sun Kim in her company debut, outdoes itself, especially as the opera soars to its demonic climax.”
Theatrius

“Kim made a strong impression with her company debut, leading a performance that was powerful and passionate. She coaxed glorious playing from the Orchestra…an auspicious debut for her, and the audience responded enthusiastically.”

Parterre Box

“Kim’s shimmering, beautifully contoured performance of the Dvorak’s melody-immersed operatic masterpiece, elicited a brilliant response from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.”

Opera Warhorses

“Kim drove the emotional flow, pulling the vibrant Dvorak colors from the triple winds of the opera orchestra, urging full-throated force from its strings.”

Opera Today

“Musically and vocally, too, it is carried off with highly impressive results. Within Dvořák’s lush orchestration there’s a whiff of Wagner, a sense of Strauss and a touch of Tchaikovsky among his influences and conductor Eun Sun Kim, in her company debut, captures the darkness, the gossamer-like, the bombastic and mystery of the score with elan.”

OperaChaser

“In this capacious and captivating production at the War Memorial Opera House, everything from the highly characterized singing to…the lush yet keenly honed reading of the score, under conductor Eun Sun Kim’s baton in her fine company debut, registers in a vividly visceral, emotionally penetrating way. Nothing feels or sounds gratuitous; just about everything, across three-and-a-half musically and dramatically absorbing hours, seems essential. The music has a cumulative force, culminating in a duet for Rusalka and the Prince of such excruciating tenderness and bone-deep truth that the Liebestod of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde can’t help but come to mind. Everything has amplitude and authority… Rusalka, the last and clearly best of the company’s three summer productions, is a triumph in all ways. This wonderfully wrought work, last seen her 24 years ago, has returned to the San Francisco Opera stage in a stirring, disturbing, exhilarating way, sure to etch itself in the audience’s memory.”

San Francisco Classical Voice

Barton on The Big Screen

July 23, 2018

Photo by Ken Howard

Mezzo Jamie Barton's "magnificent," "malevolent," "mezzo force-of-nature" Jezibaba will writhe across the big screen at the Metropolitan Opera's Summer HD Festival at Lincoln Center, where 3,000 lucky audience members can see "one of the sexiest performances of the season" in Dvorak's Rusalka. Details via the Metropolitan Opera.

In the 2018/19 season, Barton will appear as Fricka in the Met's production of Die Walküre, to be simulcast in cinemas in more than 70 countries worldwide via the Met's Live in HD. Tickets now on sale; details available via the Metropolitan Opera.

Read more Rusalka reviews: 

“What makes this show bearable, if not indeed indispensable, is the presence of the magnificent mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Jezibaba. It’s hard to find adjectives superlative enough to describe her voice: huge and sumptuous, but with such broad possibilities of color that the singer can chill the blood with just a glint of steel in the tone. Though I didn’t care for the jokey take on the character Zimmerman imposed on her, I was flabbergasted at how passionately Barton threw herself into the performance. Lurching, heaving and writhing nonstop, she looked as if she might any moment explode out of sheer malevolence. If everyone involved in this Rusalka were operating at Barton’s level, the Met would have its biggest hit of the decade. As it is, the company might be better off condensing the opera to a single hour-long act called Hello, Jezibaba!”
New York Observer

“The real marvel of the cast was Jamie Barton, who was absolutely sensational as the sorceress Jezibaba. Her voice was a wonder in itself, a full, shady mezzo with harrowing power, and fierce fire in her chest. Of everyone in the cast, she had the most success in navigating the cartoonish aesthetic of the production, hamming it up just enough to embrace the comic elements of the role, but never forgetting its essential darkness. Barton brings tremendous presence to the stage, coupled here with a specific and deliciously wicked vocal characterization.”
New York Classical Review

"The production had a windfall in American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as the witch Jezibaba; Barton’s charisma and vocal power produced one of the sexiest performances of the season. As the surprise erotic center of the production, Barton’s dominance of the stage (and obvious pleasure in that dominance) was absolute. Barton’s massive mezzo erupts like a foghorn at unexpected moments; at other times it slides sinuously around Dvořák’s curvaceous folk melodies. In the potion scene, “Čury mury fuk” (abracadabra), Barton punctuates her movements like a dancer, putting meaning into each self-satisfied flick of a finger... At the conclusion of this ingeniously choreographed scene, Barton coquettishly pulls a pair of goggles down over her eyes, her lips curling in sensuous satisfaction. The change from Zajick’s performances as Jezibaba in the Schenk Rusalka was enormous."
City Journal

"Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton was mesmerizing as Jezibaba, throwing herself physically into the role and singing with matchless power and control. Costumed as a Victorian granny, she was required to perform the role with a toothy sneering grin, exaggerated by her goth-like dark lipstick, but nothing deterred her. She has become one of the great treasures of our era."
Classical Voice North America

"Barton can steal the show just by opening those velvet tonsils of her and letting the sumptuous sounds and array of colors burst forth. And she did. I'd listen to Barton anytime--oh, that velour!"
Broadway World Opera

"As Jezibaba, Jamie Barton, in a wonderful spiderweb dress, blended comedy and cruelty, her pungent mezzo taking on a fierce brightness."
Wall Street Journal

“Barton is a lot of fun here. Her low mezzo is irresistibly rich and colorful, epic in size and effortless. (I’ve seen a lot of Rusalkas and hence a lot of Jezibabas and she is the best by a large margin.) She also shows real comic flair in a villain mode.”
Likely Impossibilities

"As a gruesomely witty Jezibaba, Jamie Barton’s sensational dark mezzo showed much Wagnerian promise."
Gay City News

"Jamie Barton devoured the lusty-nasty-witchy flailings of Jezibaba."
Financial Times

"Jamie Barton was an excellent fit for the role of the witch Jezibaba. Her big scenes in Act I and III were powerfully sung, drowning out the little mermaid with her rich pliant instrument. She had enough gas for the big finish in Act III, leaving the audience stunned."
Paper Blog

“Jamie Barton, a recent winner of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, is a delightfully campy villain as the witch Jezibaba. Her meaty mezzo is wonderfully deployed, especially during the transformation set piece, in which Zimmerman likens Rusalka’s metamorphosis to a surgical intervention. The only drawback is the role’s brevity in a rather long evening, leaving the audience craving more of Barton’s superlative work.”
Parterre Box

“Barton, a mezzo from Georgia who is becoming a Met mainstay, is wickedly devious as Jezibaba.”
Huffington Post

“Jamie Barton gobbled the lusty-nasty-witchy flailings of Ježibaba.”
Financial Times

"Barton was electric as Jezibaba. Her take on the character was a “Satan-lite,” if you will, the character a fun-loving yet conniving villain. Her main interactions in the opera are with the tragic heroine, the witch getting to control the dynamics of the scenes throughout. Barton relished these moments, letting her gigantic instrument run wild throughout the massive halls of the Met. Her diction was delicious as she twisted every consonant or set of mixed consonants to fill out the portrait of a seemingly evil character that was simply having a ton of fun. Her phrasing had an aggressive quality, especially as she preyed on Rusalka to sign the contract, a literally selling of the soul to the devil. Her demeanor was darker in the final act, the sound more lethal in its accented brutality (though no less beautiful to listen to) and her glare dangerous."
Opera Wire

"Jamie Barton was a vocal standout as Jezibaba, her rich and deep chest voice a special and memorable treat."
Bachtrack

“The real find in this cast is American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton who, in both voice and temperament, creates an over-the-top witch, complete with cobalt-blue contact lenses and spider-web dress.”
TheaterByte

“American mezzo-soprano force-of-nature Jamie Barton (Jezibaba), launches her magnificently voluptuous voice and blasts a wicked, maniacal cackle to blood-curdling effect.”
Blasting News

“Jamie Barton, the lavish, demonically-dressed Jezibaba, played the joy of wickedness with almost glittering eyes.”
Der Neue Merker

“Jamie Barton’s Jezibaba was a clever and very entertaining witch. The young mezzo-soprano from Rome – Georgia! – is moving to stardom most rapidly.”
Riverstown Patch

“The witch Jezibaba is mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who exudes charm and wit as the sorceress who combines all kinds of ingredients in her steaming well.”
Bitácora

“Jamie Barton sang opulently as the witch Jezibaba.”
Opera Magazine

“Jamie Barton, who created a truly original witch Jezibaba, deserves a special mention. Barton’s Jezibaba was cruel, amusing, perverse, and – above all – charismatic. The caricatured gestures which accompanied her impeccable vocal performance earned her a well-deserved place among the great witches of opera and – why not? – of cartoon.”
Música en México

“Jamie Barton as Jezibaba was gloriously demented as the wily witch. She gets to play some delicious comedy and sings with such skill, you feel like she is really capable of casting spells with sound.”
NY Theatre Guide

"The most adventurous touch was...the witch Jezibaba, brought to vivid, scene-stealing life by the protean talents of mezzo Jamie Barton [and] Barton's wickedly funny conquests of her scenes..."
Opera News

"Jamie Barton’s devilish Jezibaba was the highlight. Surrounded by half-human/half-animal henchmen, Barton brought such electric charisma that it was hard not to find affection for the wily sorceress."
Classical Source

"The extraordinary Jamie Barton is the vocal star of this production and outshines even Eric Owens, just as she outshone Plácido Domingo in the Met’s Nabucco this winter. Barton and her critters are terrifying: Her cackle froze the auditorium’s giblets."
New Republic

“As the crusty witch Jezibaba, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton dug into her lower range with some dramatically appropriate guttural effects, but more than her predecessor Dolora Zajick, maintained grace and musicality no matter how nasty her sentiments.”
Operavore