'When you hear Barton, you want this opera renamed Adalgisa'

April 30, 2018

Photo by Cory Weaver

““Mezzo Jamie Barton...former HGO Studio Artist and conquering international singer, supplies heft, smoky velvet tone, and incomparable artistry to good girl gone bad then good. Sometimes a second lead makes this opera her own – Marilyn Horne immediately comes to mind. When you hear Barton’s glorious plangency, you want this opera renamed Adalgisa. She walks away with this production on a platter.””

— Houston Press

Mezzo Jamie Barton brings her Adalgisa, one of her signature roles, to Norma at Houston Grand Opera, where she trained in the HGO Studio. Led by music director Patrick Summers, the cast includes Liudmyla Monastyrska in the title role, opposite Chad Shelton as Pollione. Performances at the Resilience Theater run through May 11, 2018, with tickets available via HGO.

Read more reviews: 

"When mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, playing the young priestess Adalgisa, blended her rich tones with Monastyrska’s in their Act 2 due, “Mira, o Norma,” the mellifluous outcome recalled the classic pairing of Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne... The darkness and weight of Barton’s voice captured Adalgisa’s heavy-heartedness even at a whisper. Every phrase was alive and expressive."
Texas Classical Review

“A spellbinding performance that was a master class of bel canto virtuosity and dramatic connection…”
Houston Chronicle

"A star performance in Jamie Barton's Adalgisa... Barton showed her versatility in several registers of her voice, but most particularly the upper octave. It is exactly this trait that showcases how calling Adalgisa just another mezzo role is not telling the whole story. Barton was the most dynamic actress of the bunch, displaying her internal conflict especially vividly..."
Schmopera

“Barton, whose voice transformed Wagner’s frumpy Fricka into utter sophistication for HGO’s Ring cycle, showed her breadth as an artist with Bellini’s ornamented bel canto, handling each turn and leap with silky ease."
Houstonia

“Barton’s performance was absolutely thrilling. Flaunting a truly luxurious, rich-voiced mezzo reminiscent of the great Marilyn Horne...exquisitely phrased with a honeyed tone, even legato, and abundantly resonant chest voice. Barton and Monastyrska easily spun out phrase after phrase of gorgeous legato..."
Opera Wire

Jamie Barton Appears on Houston Life TV

April 26, 2018

Mezzo Jamie Barton joined costume designer Jessica Jahn on Houston Life, taking audiences behind the scenes of Houston Grand Opera's production of Norma in Resilience Theater.

Norma, which stars Barton as Adalgisa opposite Liudmyla Monastyrska in the tile role and Chad Shelton as Pollione, opens April 27 and runs through May 11, with tickets available via HGO.

Watch the segment >

Jamie Barton Is Stellar in HGO Götterdämmerung, World Still Goes Down in Flames

April 25, 2017

Photo by Lynn Lane

Mezzo Jamie Barton returns to Houston Grand Opera for Götterdämmerung, the thrilling conclusion of Wagner's Ring cycle. Appearing as both Waltraute and 2nd Norn, Barton joins an all-star cast featuring Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde, Simon O'Neill as Siegfriend, Meredith Arwady as 1st Norn, Heidi Melton as 3rd Norn, and Andrea Silvestrelli as Hagen. Conducted by Patrick Summers, the production is the final installment in an artistic marvel designed by La Fura dels Baus.

Performances run through May 7; tickets can be purchased via the HGO site.

Read reviews: 

"Mezzo Jamie Barton is already an international phenom with that dazzlingly creamy voice and commanding stage presence. As Waltraute, she shines most bright. Her account of father Wotan's fall into despair is an achingly beautiful mini-scene that displays her glorious voice to full effect. With power to spare, she soars over the lush orchestration...to penetrate the wrenching heart of her tale. It's a glorious performance from this gifted young artist."
Houston Press

"A fleet of extravagant women joins Goerke in this final installment, beginning with the three Norns—Meredith Arwady, Jamie Barton and Heidi Melton—who twist the strands of fate in the prelude with opulence and ease."
Houstonia

“Goerke and her Valkyrie sister Waltraute, sung by Jamie Barton, are two strong women, two strong dramatic singers, matching each other in anguish and intensity in a memorable scene.”
Arts+Culture Texas

“The central couple was surrounded by compelling portrayals. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, a powerful Fricka earlier in the Ring, made an equally formidable Waltraute. Not only did her voice well up commandingly when her monologue foreshadowed the final catastrophe, but she brought weight and intensity even to the quietest moments.”
Texas Classical Review

Jamie Barton to Debut at New York Philharmonic, Return to Houston Grand Opera

February 3, 2016

In the 2016/17 season, Jamie Barton will make her Wigmore Hall recital debut in London, and return to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Mahler's 3rd Symphony. 

Barton will also debut with the New York Philharmonic as Fricka in a semi-staged production of Das Rheingold, a role she first sang at Houston Grand Opera.

An alumna of the HGO Studio, Barton will return to Houston in April and May of 2017 for Götterdämmerung, in which she will perform Waltraute and Second Norn alongside Simon O'Neill as Siegfried, Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde, and Andrea Silvestrelli as Hagen. 

Photo by Lynn Lane