Presto Classical
December 2016

Jamie Barton's double victory at Cardiff Singer of the World in 2013 has to have been one of the most memorable triumphs in the competition's history. Not only did the exuberant Georgia-born mezzo's vivid personality come across equally potently in both operatic and song literature (as well as in tragedy and comedy), but the voice itself proved to be a real force of nature: the thrilling power and amplitude on display heralded the arrival of a great dramatic voice that's sure to make waves in Wagner, Verdi and verismo...

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BBC Music Magazine
December 2016

I come from an extremely musical family – I grew up in the northwest Georgia mountains, and several of my family played bluegrass instruments. My dad started my music recognition education from a very early age with The Beatles. One of their songs would come on the radio, and he would ask me which it was, and which album it came from. I was really in love with the White Album and jovial songs on it such as 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'.

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City Lights
November 2016

To say that Barton’s career has taken off is quite the understatement. With each performance, audience demand for a solo album only grows. Now, as the saying goes, the wait is finally over. On Friday, Barton, with pianist Brian Zeger, will release “All Who Wander.” The album features songs from three composers – Gustav Mahler, Antonín Dvořák and Jean Sibelius. Barton’s interpretation of these songs, like all of her work, is driven by storytelling.

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Musical Toronto
September 2016

My first experience of the Jamie Barton voice was the Met in HD showing of The Audition, a documentary on the 2007 Metropolitan Opera Auditions. It was a vintage year, with several young singers going on to spectacular careers. Even with stiff competition, Jamie Barton was singled out as one of the winners, for her radiant smile, gleaming tone, and engaging personality.

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Schmopera
April 2016

We had the chance to talk with American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton between rehearsals for Washington National Opera's upcoming Ring Cycle, where she'll be singing Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, and covering Fricka in Die Walküre. In her mid-30s, Barton is familiar with the gamble that can be found in singing Wagner's music. "As a singer, especially a young singer, they tend to say 'don't do Wagner, don't sing it, don't listen to it, just stay away Wagner, it'll hurt your voice.'" For her, the difference lies less in age, and more in whether or not a singer is "built to sing it."

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