Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT A Tudor opera tangle for mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton
by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times
2014-12-03

This article shared 4953 times since Wed Dec 3, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton knew that she would need plenty of plain old luck on top of her considerable talents to forge a career as a professional opera singer. But in Barton's case, winning a number of impressive opera vocal competitions particularly helped.

"For me the three big launching points in my career have been because of competitions," said Barton, back again in the Windy City rehearsing her role debut as Giovanna Seymour ( Jane Seymour ) in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's new co-production with Minnesota Opera of Donizetti's 1830 tragedy Anna Bolena ( Anne Boleyn ).

While she was still a student working on her master's degree at Indiana University, Barton competed to become a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York. But Barton was doubly lucky to win that particular year because it coincided with the filming of a high-profile documentary called The Audition focused on the annual competition. The shared win with rising colleagues like soprano Amber Wagner and tenor Alek Shrader not only helped to put a then-unknown Barton on the international opera map, it was captured in high-definition for future posterity.

"It still manages to bring publicity to me," Barton said. "Even today people will come up to me and say, 'Ooh! I saw you in The Audition.'"

Barton's prize-winning ways continued as a recipient of a 2012 Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. But most impressively Barton won both the biennial BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2013 and its concurrent World Song Prize dedicated to piano-accompanied recital pieces. Barton is the first woman to win both prizes in the history of the 30-year competition, and only the second singer ever to do so after Romanian tenor Marius Brenciu triumphed with the same two prizes in 2001.

"Since then, life has just been completely different," Barton said about her career post-Cardiff. "It's not even the same ball game."

Barton, a native of Rome, Georgia, made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in 2011 as the offstage voice of Antonia's mother in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann. Her other Lyric appearances include small supporting roles as a nymph in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos in 2011 and as Magdalene in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2013.

But now Barton is taking on a far juicier role as Jane Seymour, who was wooed to be the third wife of King Henry VIII as he was looking to do away with his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

"This one is very difficult to sing. It's very high—sopranos have done it, though it is traditionally cast with a mezzo-soprano," Barton said. "For me it's a lot of mental focus to make sure I'm singing correctly because it's such emotional music and such emotional text. My character from the moment she steps on stage is in emotional turmoil. It's really easy to let that creep into the voice, but that's the first thing that will make you crash and burn as a singer."

Barton doesn't necessarily see Jane Seymour as the villain of the piece—that would most definitely be Henry VIII, played by Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea. But Barton said even the title heroine ( played by St. Charles native Sondra Radvanovsky ) has her flaws, too.

"[Director Kevin Newbury] is making a real effort to bring this back down to the human element, to not make it so black and white," Barton said. "There are so many shades of gray and that's what makes it interesting."

Barton herself revealed a very personal aspect of her life when she came out as bisexual via her professional Twitter account on National Coming Out Day. Although she initially identified as straight, "It just so happened that I fell in love with someone and she happened to have indoor plumbing instead of outdoor plumbing," Barton said with a laugh.

"Being an ally for so long, having so many gay friends in the community, I mean, Hello, I'm an opera singer, I knew within a shadow of a doubt that coming out would not be a problem to my friends," Barton said. "Of course I was a little nervous about coming out to my family. But really I had a very easy time of it."

"My father who I was most worried about, not because I didn't think he would accept me because I knew that he would, I just wasn't sure about how long it would take him to come around to being comfortable with it," Barton said. "It took him approximately 2 and a half seconds. My family is all from the South, so he went, 'Well, I love 'ya. Ain't nothing gonna change it.'"

Career-wise, two prominent future engagements for Barton include her first Fricka ( the Norse queen of the gods ) in Wagner's Die Walküre for Houston Grand Opera next April, then the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra premiere of The Work at Hand: Symphonic Songs for Cello and Mezzo-soprano by gay composer Jake Heggie in May. But for now Barton is happy to be back in Chicago with a company that she says that has always been very welcoming for her.

"This company and this city is just fantastic to be in. The company is like a family and it's almost like a family reunion coming in for the first days of rehearsals," Barton said. "It's a hugs-all-around kind of place."

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's new co-production of Anna Bolena plays eight performances at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6, 9, 15, Jan. 7, 10 and 16 with 2 p.m. matinees Dec. 12 and 21. Performances are sung in Italian with projected English translations. Tickets are $20-$299; call 312-827-5600 or www.lyricopera.org .


This article shared 4953 times since Wed Dec 3, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground 2024-03-24
- At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Lollapalooza announces lineup; SZA, Skrillex among headliners 2024-03-19
- Lollapalooza has released its line-up for the event that's taking place Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park. Headliners include SZA, Blink-182, Skrillex, The Killers, Hozier, Melanie Martinez and Stray Kids, among others. Some of the other acts ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13
- The ARC Music Festival—an event celebrating house music—will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Park—less than ...


Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

'Always Olivia' celebrates Olivia Newton-John at Raue Center 2024-02-26
- From a press release: Always Olivia, a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John comes to Raue Center in Crystal Lake on Saturday, May ...


Gay News

Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23
- As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.