Baba the Turk in THE RAKE'S PROGRESS
Opéra National de Paris
“The biggest draw is Barton making her Paris Opera debut as Baba the Turk. When Trulove shows compassion for Baba, for whom Tom jilts her, the gesture has stature — not least because Barton owns her role with a rare kind of confidence, a kind of here-I-am manner of occupying space that deprives the character of all the ridicule and objectification.”
–Financial Times
“For her debut at the Paris Opera and in the role, Barton undeniably carries the audience along in her impetuous wake. Her ironic and larger-than-life interpretation of Baba the Turk never borders on caricature, because behind the character embodied, she brings out the woman. She uses her heady and thrilling mezzo-soprano voice artfully, even in the most emphatic low notes.”
–Olyrix
“Barton brings a sparkling and daring Baba to the stage, who dominates the scene with her magnetism, especially in the very successful auction scene.”
–Connessi all’Opera
“Sculpted like John Waters' Divine, Barton scores a great success on the empathy barometer, her low notes catching in their nets even the most scrupulous of spectators facing a degendered character of a modernity that is, against all expectations, quite providential.”
–ResMusica
“Barton is formidable as Baba the Turk, funny and " over the top ", with a rich and nuanced timbre.”
–Classique News
“A triumph…Barton is a shining star.”
–Altamusica
“Barton takes on the formidable intervals of Baba, colourful but stylish, funny but not grotesque, almost ladylike in her great theatre scenes.”
–Concerto Net
“We are also touched by Barton's Baba: the panache-filled lyricism of her third act aria is striking with its burst of pride.”
–Bachtraack
“Barton is excellent as the frightening and magnanimous Baba the Turk.”
–Concert Classic
“Barton was very successful as Baba, her voice is impressive in its descent into the lower register and her truculence is perfect for the zany character she plays.”
–Cult.News
“The revelation of this production is undoubtedly Jamie Barton, a mezzo-soprano with a deep and serious, generous voice, who gives the character of Baba La Turque a real depth and complexity. Far from a caricature of a fairground monster, she composes a character that is much more ambiguous than it seems. Under the beard, behind the slightly camp drag king figure wanted by Olivier Py, it is a wounded woman who appears.”
–Un Fauteuil pour L’Orchestre
“Barton is memorable and charismatic as the goatee-wearing Baba the Turk. I cannot imagine anyone else fulfilling this imperious yet magnanimous role with so much assurance, her ability to straddle the staff in her Handelian rage aria is stupendous.”
–Opera Today
“Barton is somewhere between Divine and Marilyn Monroe, characterized by plunging low notes followed by resounding high notes, executed to perfection, as if to better illustrate her nature as a very masculine woman, reappearing in costume during the auction. The American mezzo sparkles, with a dazzling charisma, rightly recognized by the Parisian public who gave her a standing ovation.”
–Première Loge