Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage: lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities.
Her lively social media presence on Instagram and Twitter (@jbartonmezzo) serves as a hub for conversations about body positivity, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. In recognition of her iconic performance at the Last Night of the Proms, Ms. Barton was named 2020 Personality of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards. She is also the winner of the International Opera Awards Readers’ Award, Beverly Sills Artist Award, Richard Tucker Award, and both Main and Song Prizes at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Ms. Barton’s 2007 win at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launched a major international career.
This season, Ms. Barton fulfills a long-held dream, creating a role in the world premiere of a new opera by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer. Based on a little-known true story of two women who infiltrated the Confederate White House during the American Civil War, Intelligence opens the 2023/24 season at Houston Grand Opera. She also brings her acclaimed interpretation of Amneris to Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Aida and performs the Gurre-Lieder in a gala concert for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary. Elsewhere she appears as the mezzo soloist in Mahler Symphony No. 2 with Orlando Philharmonic and that same composer’s Symphony No. 8 for an already sold-out run with Orchestre de Paris.
Ms. Barton has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax at Tanglewood, and in recital across the U.S. and U.K., including featured engagements at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center. Her solo albums include All Who Wander, which received the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award, and Unexpected Shadows, nominated for a 2022 Grammy® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
March 2024