JAMIE BARTON
mezzo-soprano
We at SongFest are incredibly lucky to have the words of world wide super-star Jamie Barton with us as one of our 21 artists speaking about the legacy of art song in the 21st Century. Consistently, Ms. Barton shows up in the world of classical music both on and off stage as a powerful voice. We are proud to offer her statements here and delighted that she has graced us with her presence. This season you can catch Ms. Barton in recital from Frankfurt to California with SongFest’s very own Jake Heggie who is a long time beloved faculty member and advocate for art song and everything SongFest. As another long time collaborator pianist Kathleen Kelly says says of Ms. Barton: “She lifts up everything she sings and boundaries disappear”
Of her many albums, two immediately spring to mind: her 2020 release Unexpected shadows - songs of Jake Heggie with the composer at the piano and the award winning All who wander with songs by Mahler, Dvorak, and Siblelius with Pianist Brian Zeger at the piano.
What will the Legacy of the 21st Century be for Art Song?
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, diet culture, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. She is proud to volunteer with Turn The Spotlight, an organization working to identify, nurture, and empower leaders among women and people of color – and in turn, to illuminate the path to a more equitable future in the arts.
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 that includes leading roles at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera, and the Met.
Praised by Gramophone as having “the sort of instrument you could listen to all day, in any sort of repertoire,” Ms. Barton has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax at Tanglewood, and in recital across the U.S. and U.K., including 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, recorded with composer Jake Heggie.
Of her recital tour with Pianist Kathleen Kelly, reviewers said of their Wigmore Hall performance “ This programme of songs, featuring more female composers than male, turned up some gems, starting with Elinor Remick Warren’s piece Heather, Barton’s voice tracing smooth, easy sweeps over Kathleen Kelly’s rippling piano. Framing some slightly overwrought works by Amy Beach were one song each from the Boulanger sisters, Lili and Nadia. The muted colours and French vowels of Lili’s Attente drew a darker tone from Barton, who crowned the piece with a high note that sounded aptly vulnerable, yet absolutely controlled.”
Pianist Kathleen Kelly muses on Jamie Barton’s work and their collaboration in a statement drafted for SongFest:
“I love Jamie’s relationship to song. Whatever language, era, or style, it all lives in her brain and heart and voice and gets expressed with beauty and honesty. When we toured a program with men and women composers and poets represented equally, we found out that this kind of equity was meaningful and resonant to our whole community. In August I played Mahler for her on the same concert where she performed bluegrass with Chris Thile. She lifts up everything she sings, and boundaries disappear.”