Soprano Brenda Rae Joins Verismo Roster

August 21, 2019

““Her ecstatic desires are expressed in streams of twittering, coloratura runs. Ms. Rae brought plush radiance and brilliant, agile singing to the showpiece.””

— The New York Times

Verismo Communications welcomes American soprano Brenda Rae to the roster. Praised by Opera magazine as “virtuosic and sensual, capable of both power and nuance,” Rae is a regular guest at the world’s leading opera houses in a portfolio of demanding principal roles. This season she makes several high-profile debuts, including her first appearances as Adina in Daminao Michieletto’s production of L’elisir d’amore at Teatro Real Madrid, her Salzburg Festival debut as Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte, and her much-anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut as Poppea in a new David McVicar production of Agrippina, to be simulcast in cinemas worldwide via Met Live in HD.

Elsewhere this season, Rae returns to Wiener Staatsoper to reprise the title role in Laurent Pelly’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor, for which the Washington Post praised her as “incandescent, creating a three-dimensional character whose fluid coloratura mirrored the passionate meanderings of her mind.” She also returns to Bayerische Staatsoper as Aminta in Barrie Kosky’s production of Die schweigsame Frau and Opera Philadelphia as the featured artist in their Festival O19 Celebration.

Future projects include her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut as well as appearances in New York, Madrid, Vienna, Munich, Chicago, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, and Philadelphia.

Learn more about Brenda >

Photo by Dario Acosta

Kicking off The 2018/19 Season

September 5, 2018

The 2018/19 season will take Verismo artists – including the opera singers, conductor, and string quartet highlighted below – from Istanbul and Amsterdam to New York and London, as they make important role and house debuts and renew connections with favorite collaborators.

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Jamie Barton, Mezzo

Sara in Roberto Devereux
San Francisco Opera
September 8-27, 2018
*role debut

Azucena in Il trovatore
Bayerische Staatsoper
October 7-17, 2018

Mezzo Soloist in Verdi Requiem
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
October 23, 2018

Azucena in Il trovatore
Lyric Opera of Chicago
November 17-December 9, 2018

Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking
Atlanta Opera
February 2-10, 2019
*role debut

 

Fricka in Das Rheingold
Metropolitan Opera
March 9-May 6, 2019

Recital with Kathleen Kelly
Renée Fleming VOICES
Kennedy Center
March 23, 2019

Fricka in Die Walküre
Metropolitan Opera
March 25-May 7, 2019
*March 30 simulcast in cinemas via Met Live in HD

Jezibaba in Rusalka
San Francisco Opera
June 16-28, 2019

Photo by Stacey Bode

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Photo by Gabriel Gastelum

Christopher Allen, Conductor

Ne Quittez Pas
Opera Philadelphia
September 22-30, 2018

Candide
New England Conservatory
October 23-24, 2018

The Barber of Seville
Michigan Opera Theatre
November 10-18, 2018

Bel Canto Trio
70th Anniversary Tour
November-December 2018

 

Recital with Joshua Guerrero
December 2018

An American Original
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
January 10-12, 2019

Rising Stars Concert
Lyric Opera of Chicago
April 2019

The Marriage of Figaro
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
May 25-June 29, 2019

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Corinne Winters, Soprano

Soprano Soloist in Verdi Requiem
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra
2018 European Tour
September 16 – Wroclaw, Poland
September 18 – London, UK
September 20 – Pisa, Italy
October 30 – Lucerne, Switzerland
November 1 – Vienna, Austria
November 2 – Budapest, Hungary
November 4 – Munich, Germany
November 5 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg
November 7 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Tatiana in Eugene Onegin
Michigan Opera Theatre
October 13-21, 2018

 

Soloist in Bachianas Brasileiras
True Concord | TDSF
January 18-20, 2019

Rachel in La Juive
Opera Vlaanderen
March 10-April 6, 2019
*role debut

Soloist in Les nuits d'été
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
April 11, 2019

Soloist in García Lorca: Muse and Magician
New York Festival of Song
April 24, 2019

Photo by Fay Fox

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Photo by Fay Fox

Russell Thomas, Tenor

Roberto in Roberto Devereux
San Francisco Opera
September 8-27, 2018
*role debut

Manrico in Il trovatore
Bayerische Staatsoper
October 7-17, 2018

Manrico in Il trovatore
Lyric Opera of Chicago
November 17-December 9, 2018

Tenor Soloist in Das Lied von der Erde
Dallas Symphony
January 10-13, 2019

 

Tito in La clemenza di Tito
Los Angeles Opera
March 2-24, 2019

Otello in Otello
Canadian Opera Company
April 27-May 26, 2019
*staged role debut

Otello in Otello
Deutsche Oper Berlin
June 8-20, 2019

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Fry Street Quartet

As One
Album Recording
September 10-13, 2018

The Crossroads Project: Rising Tide
Indiana University Cinema
October 4, 2018

Bartok String Quartets: Complete Cycle
Utah State University
November 6-8, 2018

Earthbound
NOVA Chamber Music Series
January 20, 2019

 

FSQ @ USU Series
February 5, 2019

FSQ @ USU Series
March 5, 2019

The Crossroads Project: Rising Tide
Shepherd University
April 17, 2019

The Crossroads Project: Rising Tide
Longwood Gardens
April 18, 2019

Photo by Andrew McAllister

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

Barton's Role Debut as Jezibaba Bewitches Audiences

February 4, 2017

Mezzo Jamie Barton, fresh from being named winner of the 2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award, makes her role debut as Jezibaba in a new production of Rusalka at the Metropolitan Opera.

Directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Mark Elder, Dvorak's Czech fairy tale stars Kristine Opolais in the title role, Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, and Eric Owens as the Water Sprite.

Performances run through March 2, and tickets can be purchased via the Met website. The February 25 performance will be streamed live in cinemas worldwide via the Met's Live in HD program.

Read 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 Ježibaba. 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

"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

“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 as Ježibaba 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

"Jamie Barton’s devilish Ježibaba 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

Jamie Barton Receives 2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award

January 31, 2017

“I am truly humbled to be receiving an award given in honor of Beverly Sills, whose lively presence helped opera shine even where classical music previously felt unreachable and elite. Her offstage commitment to cultivating and celebrating homegrown American artistry and her onstage collaborations with people from all walks of art – from “Sills and Burnett at the Met” to “The Muppet Show” and “The Tonight Show” – helped make opera accessible to all and addictive to many. Her ability to communicate an unfolding story with every vocal nuance continues to inspire me – it’s that kind of artistry that moves me as an audience member, and it’s the kind of storytelling I strive for in my own performances. To be not only honored by the Metropolitan Opera but also to become part of a legacy that includes such strong advocates for our art form is one of the greatest honors I can imagine.”

— Jamie Barton

Photo by Jonathan Tichler

See what the New York Times had to say, and read an excerpt from the Metropolitan Opera below:

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been named the winner of the 12th annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is given to extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles at the Met. The award, given in honor of Beverly Sills, was established in 2006 by an endowment gift from the late Agnes Varis, a managing director on the Met board. Barton, who came to prominence as a winner of the Met’s National Council Auditions in 2007, has distinguished herself in recent seasons with acclaimed Met performances of Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma, Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco. She is currently in rehearsals for her role debut as the witch Ježibaba in Mary Zimmerman’s new staging of Dvořák’s Rusalka, which opens February 2.

The Sills Award was created to help further recipients’ careers, including funding for voice lessons, vocal coaching, language lessons, related travel costs, and other professional assistance. Sills, who passed away in 2007, was well known as a supporter and friend to developing young artists, and this award continues her legacy as an advocate for rising singers. The 35-year-old Barton is the 12th recipient of the award, following baritone Nathan Gunn in 2006, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in 2007, tenor Matthew Polenzani in 2008, bass John Relyea in 2009, soprano Susanna Phillips in 2010, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in 2011, soprano Angela Meade in 2012, tenor Brian Hymel in 2013, tenor Michael Fabiano in 2014, baritone Quinn Kelsey in 2015, and soprano Ailyn Pérez in 2016.

Rolando Sanz to Make Metropolitan Opera Debut

June 24, 2016

Photo by Kristin Hoebermann

Tenor Rolando Sanz makes his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2016/17 season in Mozart's Idomeneo, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. The production will be simulcast in cinemas worldwide via Met Live in HD.

Sanz returns to the Met roster for productions of Verdi's La traviata, Strauss's Salome, and Beethoven's Fidelio. Sanz also sings Beethoven works in concert as tenor soloist in the Mass in C Major and Choral Fantasy with Spoleto Festival USA and as tenor soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Asheville Symphony.

For tickets and more information, visit www.rolandosanz.com.

Jamie Barton to Star in Two Metropolitan Opera Productions in 2016/17

February 17, 2016

Photo by Elise Bakketun

““Jamie Barton is dazzling as Fenena, with a showstopper Act IV aria that displayed the lyricism and agility of this remarkable voice.”
SEATTLE TIMES”

Jamie Barton will return to the Metropolitan Opera for two productions in the 2016/17 season; both will be transmitted live to cinemas worldwide via Met Live in HD.

Barton will make her role debut as Ježibaba in a new Mary Zimmerman production of Rusalka, alongside Kristine Opolais in the title role, Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, and Eric Owens as the Water Sprite, under the baton of Mark Elder. Performances will run Feb 2 – Mar 2, 2017.

Barton will also bring her celebrated Fenena to the Met stage for Nabucco, opposite Plácido Domingo and Željko Lučić in the title role, with James Levine conducting. The cast also features Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille, Russell Thomas as Ismaele, and Dimitry Belosselskiy as Zaccaria. Performances will run Dec 12, 2016 – Jan 7, 2017.

Tickets for both productions are available via the Met site.

Amanda Majeski to Return to Metropolitan Opera in 2016/17

February 17, 2016

Photo by Kelly and Massa Photography

Amanda Majeski will return to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2016/17 season in her house debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Majeski's Elvira has been praised for her "wonderful vocal and psychological specificity" (Philadelphia Inquirer) and deemed "a revelation. A strange figure, Donna Elvira, but made human by Majeski's devastating rendition of her plight." (Broadway World)

Fabio Luisi will conduct performances on November 1, 4, and 10, 2016, also starring Ildar Abdrazakov in the title role, Matthew Rose as Leporello, Malin Byström as Donna Anna, Ramón Vargas as Don Ottavio, Nadine Sierra as Zerlina, and Adam Plachetka as Masetto.

Amanda will also perform as part of the 50th Anniversary Gala, celebrating the Met's golden anniversary in its home in Lincoln Center. Tickets are available through the Met website.

Jamie Barton Returns to Metropolitan Opera in Anna Bolena

September 27, 2015

Photo by Ken Howard

““Ms. Barton’s sumptuous voice has utterly unforced carrying power. In head-to-head exchanges with Anna, Ms. Barton’s Giovanna held her own, trading fiery phrases and bursts of skittish passagework. Yet she was even more affecting during tender moments. In such passages Ms. Barton demonstrated how to send a long-lined Donizetti phrase wafting through the house. At 33, she seems poised for greatness.” THE NEW YORK TIMES”

Jamie Barton returns to the Metropolitan Opera, bringing her celebrated Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena to the Met stage, alongside American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Anne Boleyn and Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as King Henry VIII. Barton is earning raves for her "glorious, plush, soaring voice" (Broadway World Opera) and "luminous tone." (The New Yorker)

Performances continue through January 9, 2016; tickets can be purchased through the Met website.

Read reviews:

"The superb mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton sings Giovanna (Jane), Anna’s disloyal lady-in-waiting, who has succumbed to the desires of the king. Ms. Barton’s sumptuous voice has utterly unforced carrying power. In head-to-head exchanges with Anna, Ms. Barton’s Giovanna held her own, trading fiery phrases and bursts of skittish passagework. Yet she was even more affecting during tender moments, when Giovanna despairs for having betrayed Anna and become the king’s mistress. In such passages Ms. Barton demonstrated how to send a long-lined Donizetti phrase wafting through the house. At 33, she seems poised for greatness."
The New York Times

"Radvanovsky had a splendid foil and partner in the voluptuous-voiced mezzo Jamie Barton as Giovanna Seymour, her rival for the king’s affections: Their revelation scene in Act II was a thrilling high point of the evening."
The Wall Street Journal

"Jamie Barton hit her stride in the crucial Act II duet with Boleyn, raising the emotional stakes for her and her counterpart to dizzying heights. There was urgent passion in her singing, and blooming sighs in her pleas for forgiveness, making this duet the electric highlight that it should be in every performance of this piece."
The Classical Review

"Singing the role of Anna’s rival is mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton. Barton not only applies a rhythmic mastery to her vocally arduous passages, she also intertwines them with a pathos this production does not often yield. Her dark, cavernous gravity across the low notes serves her well as Jane expresses the full horror of her actions. She replenishes her short contralto passages, such as ‘la mia sorta è fissa’, with both black guilt and resignation to destiny."
musicOMH

"Jamie Barton is another of the day’s career-defining performances. In another production delight, the vocally beautiful young American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton brings her own impressive set of acting chops to Jane Seymour. Barton won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2007, and at 33 brings a youthful abandon to her dark, rich, sonorous sound.  Barton’s first act 'Ella di me solicit' is sung with superb bel canto technique, a pleasure that both sopranos offer in abundance. Fantastic singing throughout, absolutely.  At times sublime.  But it is the rich character work by each of the actors at the center of the love triangle, the strong dramatic choices and the clarity of scene that they bring to their performance that takes this production from very good to absolutely thrilling."
ZEALnyc

"Mezzo Jamie Barton has been accorded deserved praise as Adalgisa and now as Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena. Barton is the 2015 Richard Tucker Award winner and will be heard at the Nov.1 gala. Only in her mid-30s, Barton’s the real deal, potentially a singer for the ages."
WQXR Operavore

"Barton's sympathetic portrayal of Seymour shows her to be as much of a victim of Henry's quest for power as Anna and she had the audience from the moment she opened her mouth. She shows no signs of effort, with her glorious, soaring, plush voice, as she showed in 'Ah! pensate che rivolti'."
Broadway World Opera

"Abdrazakov sings the king with thuggish authority, and Jamie Barton is in sumptuous voice as his new paramour, Giovanna (Jane) Seymour."
The New Yorker

"Mezzo Jamie Barton, in the role of Henry’s scheming third wife-to-be Jane (Giovanna) Seymour, undertook her schemes with a purring mezzo that drew out all the part’s ruthless drive."
ConcertoNet

"Jamie Barton introduced a big, lush mezzo soprano and easy temperament as Giovanna Seymour."
Financial Times

"Jamie Barton was Giovanna Seymour, singing with a well-placed, resonant mezzo of notable beauty."
Opera Magazine

"In a house as big as the Met, 'Anna Bolena' is often cast with heavier, less idiomatic voices; plush lyric lines fare better than florid runs. Radvanovsky and Barton both sang with stamina, intelligence, and style. Barton, who played Jane Seymour, is a once in a generation talent who can sing Purcell and Wagner with equal authority. But agile music shortchanges her: you want to hear that luminous tone extend through the bar."
The New Yorker

"As her rival Jane Seymour, mezzo Jamie Barton revealed superb bel canto style, her singing ideally balanced between pinpoint control and runaway passion."
New York Observer

"The rest of the cast provided bel canto singing of the highest level. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s voice—an instrument of singular beauty and amplitude—transcends an amiable stage persona that is at odds with suffering or tormented characters (as 2013’s Adalgisa, for example). In Donizetti’s opera, Giovanna (Queen Anne’s lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour) is the reluctant focus of the king’s attention. In the great Act II confrontation in which Anna figures this out, Barton conveyed Giovanna’s guilt and anguish with touching sincerity and glorious sound."
Opera News

"With the splendid mezzo Jamie Barton singing the role of Jane (or Giovanna) Seymour, this is an Anna Bolena that captures all the passion of one of history's most momentous love triangles. Ravanovsky's and Barton's thrilling second act duet, which begins with Anna's prayer and in which Anna learns that Giovanna is the king's new love interest, is of such raw emotional power and so magnificently sung, one is willing to forgive any historical liberties. Barton, singing only her third role at the Met has a soaring voice of crystal clarity and one hopes to hear more from her."
Huffington Post