Barton on The Big Screen
“It’s hard to find adjectives superlative enough to describe her voice: huge and sumptuous, but with such broad possibilities of color that the singer can chill the blood with just a glint of steel in the tone. Lurching, heaving and writhing nonstop, she looked as if she might any moment explode out of sheer malevolence.” New York City audiences have another chance to experience Jamie Barton’s Jezibaba at the Met’s Summer HD Festival, and audiences around the world can see her Fricka in cinemas in 2018/19.
July 23, 2018
Photo by Ken Howard
Mezzo Jamie Barton's "magnificent," "malevolent," "mezzo force-of-nature" Jezibaba will writhe across the big screen at the Metropolitan Opera's Summer HD Festival at Lincoln Center, where 3,000 lucky audience members can see "one of the sexiest performances of the season" in Dvorak's Rusalka. Details via the Metropolitan Opera.
In the 2018/19 season, Barton will appear as Fricka in the Met's production of Die Walküre, to be simulcast in cinemas in more than 70 countries worldwide via the Met's Live in HD. Tickets now on sale; details available via the Metropolitan Opera.
Read more Rusalka reviews:
“What makes this show bearable, if not indeed indispensable, is the presence of the magnificent mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Jezibaba. It’s hard to find adjectives superlative enough to describe her voice: huge and sumptuous, but with such broad possibilities of color that the singer can chill the blood with just a glint of steel in the tone. Though I didn’t care for the jokey take on the character Zimmerman imposed on her, I was flabbergasted at how passionately Barton threw herself into the performance. Lurching, heaving and writhing nonstop, she looked as if she might any moment explode out of sheer malevolence. If everyone involved in this Rusalka were operating at Barton’s level, the Met would have its biggest hit of the decade. As it is, the company might be better off condensing the opera to a single hour-long act called Hello, Jezibaba!”
New York Observer
“The real marvel of the cast was Jamie Barton, who was absolutely sensational as the sorceress Jezibaba. Her voice was a wonder in itself, a full, shady mezzo with harrowing power, and fierce fire in her chest. Of everyone in the cast, she had the most success in navigating the cartoonish aesthetic of the production, hamming it up just enough to embrace the comic elements of the role, but never forgetting its essential darkness. Barton brings tremendous presence to the stage, coupled here with a specific and deliciously wicked vocal characterization.”
New York Classical Review
"The production had a windfall in American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as the witch Jezibaba; Barton’s charisma and vocal power produced one of the sexiest performances of the season. As the surprise erotic center of the production, Barton’s dominance of the stage (and obvious pleasure in that dominance) was absolute. Barton’s massive mezzo erupts like a foghorn at unexpected moments; at other times it slides sinuously around Dvořák’s curvaceous folk melodies. In the potion scene, “Čury mury fuk” (abracadabra), Barton punctuates her movements like a dancer, putting meaning into each self-satisfied flick of a finger... At the conclusion of this ingeniously choreographed scene, Barton coquettishly pulls a pair of goggles down over her eyes, her lips curling in sensuous satisfaction. The change from Zajick’s performances as Jezibaba in the Schenk Rusalka was enormous."
City Journal
"Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton was mesmerizing as Jezibaba, throwing herself physically into the role and singing with matchless power and control. Costumed as a Victorian granny, she was required to perform the role with a toothy sneering grin, exaggerated by her goth-like dark lipstick, but nothing deterred her. She has become one of the great treasures of our era."
Classical Voice North America
"Barton can steal the show just by opening those velvet tonsils of her and letting the sumptuous sounds and array of colors burst forth. And she did. I'd listen to Barton anytime--oh, that velour!"
Broadway World Opera
"As Jezibaba, Jamie Barton, in a wonderful spiderweb dress, blended comedy and cruelty, her pungent mezzo taking on a fierce brightness."
Wall Street Journal
“Barton is a lot of fun here. Her low mezzo is irresistibly rich and colorful, epic in size and effortless. (I’ve seen a lot of Rusalkas and hence a lot of Jezibabas and she is the best by a large margin.) She also shows real comic flair in a villain mode.”
Likely Impossibilities
"As a gruesomely witty Jezibaba, Jamie Barton’s sensational dark mezzo showed much Wagnerian promise."
Gay City News
"Jamie Barton devoured the lusty-nasty-witchy flailings of Jezibaba."
Financial Times
"Jamie Barton was an excellent fit for the role of the witch Jezibaba. Her big scenes in Act I and III were powerfully sung, drowning out the little mermaid with her rich pliant instrument. She had enough gas for the big finish in Act III, leaving the audience stunned."
Paper Blog
“Jamie Barton, a recent winner of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, is a delightfully campy villain as the witch Jezibaba. Her meaty mezzo is wonderfully deployed, especially during the transformation set piece, in which Zimmerman likens Rusalka’s metamorphosis to a surgical intervention. The only drawback is the role’s brevity in a rather long evening, leaving the audience craving more of Barton’s superlative work.”
Parterre Box
“Barton, a mezzo from Georgia who is becoming a Met mainstay, is wickedly devious as Jezibaba.”
Huffington Post
“Jamie Barton gobbled the lusty-nasty-witchy flailings of Ježibaba.”
Financial Times
"Barton was electric as Jezibaba. Her take on the character was a “Satan-lite,” if you will, the character a fun-loving yet conniving villain. Her main interactions in the opera are with the tragic heroine, the witch getting to control the dynamics of the scenes throughout. Barton relished these moments, letting her gigantic instrument run wild throughout the massive halls of the Met. Her diction was delicious as she twisted every consonant or set of mixed consonants to fill out the portrait of a seemingly evil character that was simply having a ton of fun. Her phrasing had an aggressive quality, especially as she preyed on Rusalka to sign the contract, a literally selling of the soul to the devil. Her demeanor was darker in the final act, the sound more lethal in its accented brutality (though no less beautiful to listen to) and her glare dangerous."
Opera Wire
"Jamie Barton was a vocal standout as Jezibaba, her rich and deep chest voice a special and memorable treat."
Bachtrack
“The real find in this cast is American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton who, in both voice and temperament, creates an over-the-top witch, complete with cobalt-blue contact lenses and spider-web dress.”
TheaterByte
“American mezzo-soprano force-of-nature Jamie Barton (Jezibaba), launches her magnificently voluptuous voice and blasts a wicked, maniacal cackle to blood-curdling effect.”
Blasting News
“Jamie Barton, the lavish, demonically-dressed Jezibaba, played the joy of wickedness with almost glittering eyes.”
Der Neue Merker
“Jamie Barton’s Jezibaba was a clever and very entertaining witch. The young mezzo-soprano from Rome – Georgia! – is moving to stardom most rapidly.”
Riverstown Patch
“The witch Jezibaba is mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who exudes charm and wit as the sorceress who combines all kinds of ingredients in her steaming well.”
Bitácora
“Jamie Barton sang opulently as the witch Jezibaba.”
Opera Magazine
“Jamie Barton, who created a truly original witch Jezibaba, deserves a special mention. Barton’s Jezibaba was cruel, amusing, perverse, and – above all – charismatic. The caricatured gestures which accompanied her impeccable vocal performance earned her a well-deserved place among the great witches of opera and – why not? – of cartoon.”
Música en México
“Jamie Barton as Jezibaba was gloriously demented as the wily witch. She gets to play some delicious comedy and sings with such skill, you feel like she is really capable of casting spells with sound.”
NY Theatre Guide
"The most adventurous touch was...the witch Jezibaba, brought to vivid, scene-stealing life by the protean talents of mezzo Jamie Barton [and] Barton's wickedly funny conquests of her scenes..."
Opera News
"Jamie Barton’s devilish Jezibaba was the highlight. Surrounded by half-human/half-animal henchmen, Barton brought such electric charisma that it was hard not to find affection for the wily sorceress."
Classical Source
"The extraordinary Jamie Barton is the vocal star of this production and outshines even Eric Owens, just as she outshone Plácido Domingo in the Met’s Nabucco this winter. Barton and her critters are terrifying: Her cackle froze the auditorium’s giblets."
New Republic
“As the crusty witch Jezibaba, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton dug into her lower range with some dramatically appropriate guttural effects, but more than her predecessor Dolora Zajick, maintained grace and musicality no matter how nasty her sentiments.”
Operavore
Russell Thomas's 'Heroically Scaled' Otello 'Galvanizes The Drama' at Hollywood Bowl
“Out of the tumult tenor Russell Thomas, with all the strength of a commanding general, strode on stage and proclaimed, ‘Esultate!’ For the next three hours there was a great deal to rejoice about…” Russell Thomas joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the title character in Verdi’s iconic Otello.
July 20, 2018
““A compelling Otello... His tone was clarion without being imperious, more a wounded, vulnerable leader. It wasn’t Iago who poisoned him with false intimations of Desdemona’s infidelity so much as a society uncomfortable with, and condescending toward, an outsider.””
American tenor Russell Thomas gave Hollywood Bowl audiences "a great deal to rejoice about" in his Los Angeles Philharmonic appearance as the title character in Verdi's iconic Otello, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
In the 2018/19 season, Thomas will sing his first fully staged performances of the role, first at Canadian Opera Company (April 26–May 26, 2019; tickets via COC) and immediately following at Deutsche Oper Berlin (June 8-20, 2019; tickets via DOB).
Read reviews:
“Out of the tumult tenor Russell Thomas, with all the strength of a commanding general, strode on stage and proclaimed, ‘Esultate!’ For the next three hours there was a great deal to rejoice about. Thomas began as a tower of strength then gradually shattered under the devilish manipulation of…Iago. Thomas is a formidable Otello. As an African American, he genuinely looks the part with an heroically-scaled tenor that more than once brought to mind the ringing tones of Plácido Domingo in his signature role… After the dulcet Tristan-esque duet that ends Act I, Thomas’s performance galvanized the drama. It was an all-in performance that conveyed the power and the emotionally conflicting elements that drive Otello to his doom.”
San Francisco Classical Voice
“Thomas’s entrance had ringing authority, immediately establishing Otello’s primacy. But there was no harshness; Thomas succeeded in keeping Otello a lyrical tenor role.”
Opera Wire
“Its quietly brooding, suspenseful moments get lost in the open air. Still, the cast did not let that cramp their style. In the title role Russell Thomas's tenor came across with its ear-delighting timbre intact…”
LA Observed
New Site Launched for American Tenor Russell Thomas
“A heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision…” American tenor Russell Thomas will bring his signature elegance and intensity to the title characters in Verdi’s Otello, Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, and Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito.
July 11, 2018
Verismo Communications announces the launch of a new website for American tenor Russell Thomas, who performs Verdi's iconic Otello with this Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl this month.
With a “heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision” (Opera Magazine) and “gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), Thomas uses his signature elegance and intensity to create vivid character portrayals on the world’s most important stages.
The upcoming 2018/19 season features Mr. Thomas’s hotly anticipated stage debut as the title character in Otello, to be seen at the Canadian Opera Company after concert performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He sings Manrico in Il trovatore at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Lyric Opera of Chicago, makes his role debut as as the title character in Roberto Devereux at San Francisco Opera, and brings his celebrated Tito in La clemenza di Tito to Los Angeles Opera. On the concert stage, he joins the World Orchestra for Peace in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the BBC Proms, and performs Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Jorge Mejia's Musical Memoir Featured in Billboard Magazine
"Success for Mejía…has come easy, in part, because he can relate. Mejía is a musician himself, a pianist-composer who is known for connecting on a visceral and musical level with his songwriters.” Billboard Magazine talks with Jorge Mejia about bridging worlds, genres, and cultures.
June 29, 2018
Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia talked with Billboard Magazine about An Open Book: A Memoir in Music.
"Success for Mejía -- who also has deals with "Despacito" co-writers Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee, and signed Colombian superstar Maluma to a global publishing deal in 2017 -- has come easy, in part, because he can relate. Mejía is a musician himself, a pianist-composer with a performance degree from the University of Miami who is known for connecting on a visceral and musical level with his songwriters.
Now, Mejía is further exploring his own talents. In May, he released An Open Book: A Memoir in Music, a book and album of short classical piano pieces with orchestral accompaniment that tell his own story as a bicultural, bilingual artist. The Open Book Latin American Tour, which Mejía narrates and performs, has included performances in Ecuador and Uruguay. Here, Mejía speaks about his music, Fonsi's success and betting on the Latin market."
Riders Opera Finalist in NYF Radio Awards
"Monumental and well-crafted…Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage can now lay claim to a rightful place in the canon of works about the American West." WFMT's American Opera Series broadcast of Riders has been named a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards.
June 27, 2017
The WFMT broadcast of Riders of the Purple Sage, the world premiere opera written by Olivier Award-nominated composer Craig Bohmler and commissioned by Arizona Opera, aired in 400 cities throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
The broadcast, hosted by Naomi Lewin and co-produced by Kristin Atwell Ford, has now been recognized as a Finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards "Best Music Special" category.
Two Verismo Artists Profiled in Musical America
Over the past decade, Musical America has had an incredible knack for featuring "New Artists of the Month" who go on to big things. This month's follow-up on 25 of these still-rising stars includes conductor Christopher Allen and soprano Corinne Winters.
June 26, 2018
Photos by Gabriel Gastelum and Fay Fox
““Every month for nearly ten years, Musical America has featured a New Artist on our home page: someone with a special talent that, for the most part, hasn’t yet been ‘discovered’... We were right, as we were with all of the 25 we check on in this issue.””
Musical America followed up with conductor Christopher Allen, who was originally profiled as "New Artist of the Month" in July 2015 and "seems to be everywhere these days," and soprano Corinne Winters, profiled in January 2012, for whom "Violetta has become such an integral part of [her] operatic trajectory."
Jamie Barton's Fricka Has 'Vocal Balls of Steel'
“Wheedling, cajoling, commanding, she can play the kitten, gently twitting her husband’s nose, but in this relationship it is she who is determined to wear the palazzo pants. The voice is still creamy, but when the top notes fly, the audience are pinned to their seats.” Jamie Barton sings her first complete Ring cycle at San Francisco Opera.
June 18, 2018
Photo by Cory Weaver
““Jamie Barton, singing so beautifully in Das Rheingold, proves she has vocal balls of steel as well, delivering a Fricka of power and considerable subtlety. 1930s-Wotan may have moved on, but she has absolutely no intention of letting morals slide. Wheedling, cajoling commanding, she can play the kitten, gently twitting her husband’s nose, but in this relationship it is she who is determined to wear the palazzo pants. The voice is still creamy, but when the top notes fly, the audience are pinned to their seats. For a woman who seems the up-and-coming bel canto mezzo of the moment, she’s one hell of a versatile singer.””
Mezzo Jamie Barton sings her first complete Ring cycle, as Fricka in Wagner's Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, and as Waltraute and 2nd Norn in Götterdämmerung, alongside a starry cast led by Donald Runnicles at San Francisco Opera. Three cycles play through July 2, with tickets available via SFO.
Read more reviews:
"Barton brought verve and tonal warmth to the role of Fricka, Wotan’s strong-willed, though often sensitive, wife."
SF Examiner
“A stentorian yet humane performance."
San Francisco Chronicle
"Softening the usually harsh edges on Fricka (Mrs. Wotan), Barton gave sympathetic insight and gorgeous voice to a difficult character."
Bay Area Reporter
“I would not want to anger Jamie Barton’s fierce Fricka…”
Bachtrack
“More vocal honours are due to…Jamie Barton’s sumptuous Fricka, blessed with razor-sharp diction and an instinctive way with the words. Barton’s appealing performance makes the Queen of the Gods into a preternaturally dim society matron – the kind that used to harry poor old Groucho Marx… With her flexible, creamy mezzo you’d have to go a long way to hear the role more beautifully sung.”
Limelight Magazine
“Barton, who has become one of the finest Wagner singers of her generation, sounded first-rate.”
The Mercury News
“A terrific, formidable Fricka, rolling her Rs with relish as she laid down the law.”
Classical Voice North America
“Completely convincing... Barton’s rich, warm voice portrays a woman who has gained self-confidence and who asserts her power. Barton’s Fricka plays with the emotions of Grimsley’s Wotan, exuding a combination of charm, anger and logic to derail Wotan’s long-term plans for recovering the cursed Nibelung Ring.”
Opera Warhorses
“Barton takes one of the thorniest challenges in all of the Ring’s demands. In Act II she manages a mesmerizing, searing turn in straightening out her wayward husband without a descent into caricature.”
Out West Arts
“Barton was a molten-voiced goddess of marriage, determined to uphold the tradition, as Wotan’s wife Fricka.”
SF Examiner
“Barton brought power, nuance, and beauty to Fricka, Waltraute, and the Second Norn, particularly her hurt, yet commanding, Walküre Fricka. That performance seemed to single-handedly raise the heat level on stage considerably.”
San Francisco Classical Voice
“Traditional morality could have no more eloquent a champion than Barton, whose Fricka was a dynamo of implacable reasoning delivered in lusty, full-throated tones.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Zambello’s Norns (Ronnita Miller, Jamie Barton and Sarah Cambidge) are the hapless ghosts in this machine and they couldn’t be better sung. Impeccable diction and voices of real substance get the opera off to a tremendously powerful start… Previously impressing mightily for both power and beauty of line as the cycle’ Fricka, Jamie Barton delivers an equally radiantly sung Waltraute.”
Limelight Magazine
“Barton ranged from heroic pride to deflated grief as she described the felling of the ash tree as the Second Norn, and later served as a compelling Waltraute… She showed a great sense of pacing as she led the soft brass and timpani accompaniment in the orchestra, and a rich warmth as she told Brünnhilde of Wotan’s wish that the ring be returned.”
Parterre Box
An Open Book Is 'An Instant Classic'
"An instant classic...a rigorous and eclectic work." El Nuevo Herald reviews the sold-out launch concert of Jorge Mejia’s musical memoir.
May 7, 2018
Photo by WorldRedEye.com
Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia launched his new musical memoir, An Open Book, at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center, sharing excerpts of his narratives and orchestral piano preludes with the sold-out audience.
El Nuevo Herald calls it "an instant classic...a rigorous and eclectic work."
An e-book alternating narrative vignettes with orchestral preludes recorded by the composer with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, An Open Book is inspired by Mejia’s colorful family history in Colombia, musical coming-of-age, and charming romantic misadventures en route to meeting his wife, women’s rights advocate Amanda Mejia.
Corinne Winters Interviewed on Italian Radio
"L'italiano è la lingua più bella del mondo!" Soprano Corinne Winters joined SBS Italian Radio to discuss her love for the Italian language and the juicy roles of the Italian operatic repertoire.
May 4, 2018
““Italian is the most beautiful language in the world!””
After wowing audiences in her Australian debut in La traviata at Opera Australia, American soprano Corinne Winters spoke with SBS Italian Radio, in an interview with Carlo Oreglia.
Photo by Fay Fox
Jorge Mejia Lands on Cover of Músico Pro Magazine
“He delves with ivory keys into intimacies that words can not reach.” Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia talks with the magazine about stories, music, and straddling worlds of genre.
May 2, 2018
Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia is on the cover of the special 22nd Anniversary edition of Spanish-language Músico Pro Magazine, in a feature titled "A Life Dreaming In Music".
“I sat down with Jorge Mejía in his home, at the foot of a beautiful Steinway, where he generously interlaced original pieces and sections of well-known melodies to better illustrate his responses. It turns out to be a particularly suitable dynamic given the concept of the most recent addition of its repertoire. His most ambitious project as a composer and performer is titled An Open Book: A Musical Memoir, and offers a narrative as a prelude to each instrumental piece, where he delves with ivory keys into intimacies that words can not reach.”
An Open Book Featured on WLRN's Sundial
Luis Hernandez interviews Jorge Mejia in a segment that also includes a reading and orchestral excerpts from this musical memoir.
May 1, 2018
Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia joins Luis Hernandez on Sundial on WLRN in Miami to discuss An Open Book: A Memoir in Music.
Featuring a taste of An Open Book's innovative musical and narrative blend, Mejia's interview closes out the episode, beginning ~36:42.
An e-book alternating narrative vignettes with orchestral preludes recorded by the composer with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, An Open Book is inspired by Mejia’s colorful family history in Colombia, musical coming-of-age, and charming romantic misadventures en route to meeting his wife, women’s rights advocate Amanda Mejia.
An Open Book will be celebrated with a reading and performance at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center. The performance will feature a chamber orchestra, including members of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, accompanying the composer at the piano. Co-presented by Miami cultural mainstay Books & Books, the launch concert kicks off Mejia’s Latin American tour, which will also include appearances in Ecuador and Uruguay.
'When you hear Barton, you want this opera renamed Adalgisa'
“Mezzo Jamie Barton, former HGO Studio Artist and conquering international singer, supplies heft, smoky velvet tone, and incomparable artistry…” Jamie Barton brings her Adalgisa to Houston Grand Opera’s Norma in Resilience Theater.
April 30, 2018
Photo by Cory Weaver
““Mezzo Jamie Barton...former HGO Studio Artist and conquering international singer, supplies heft, smoky velvet tone, and incomparable artistry to good girl gone bad then good. Sometimes a second lead makes this opera her own – Marilyn Horne immediately comes to mind. When you hear Barton’s glorious plangency, you want this opera renamed Adalgisa. She walks away with this production on a platter.””
Mezzo Jamie Barton brings her Adalgisa, one of her signature roles, to Norma at Houston Grand Opera, where she trained in the HGO Studio. Led by music director Patrick Summers, the cast includes Liudmyla Monastyrska in the title role, opposite Chad Shelton as Pollione. Performances at the Resilience Theater run through May 11, 2018, with tickets available via HGO.
Read more reviews:
"When mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, playing the young priestess Adalgisa, blended her rich tones with Monastyrska’s in their Act 2 due, “Mira, o Norma,” the mellifluous outcome recalled the classic pairing of Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne... The darkness and weight of Barton’s voice captured Adalgisa’s heavy-heartedness even at a whisper. Every phrase was alive and expressive."
Texas Classical Review
“A spellbinding performance that was a master class of bel canto virtuosity and dramatic connection…”
Houston Chronicle
"A star performance in Jamie Barton's Adalgisa... Barton showed her versatility in several registers of her voice, but most particularly the upper octave. It is exactly this trait that showcases how calling Adalgisa just another mezzo role is not telling the whole story. Barton was the most dynamic actress of the bunch, displaying her internal conflict especially vividly..."
Schmopera
“Barton, whose voice transformed Wagner’s frumpy Fricka into utter sophistication for HGO’s Ring cycle, showed her breadth as an artist with Bellini’s ornamented bel canto, handling each turn and leap with silky ease."
Houstonia
“Barton’s performance was absolutely thrilling. Flaunting a truly luxurious, rich-voiced mezzo reminiscent of the great Marilyn Horne...exquisitely phrased with a honeyed tone, even legato, and abundantly resonant chest voice. Barton and Monastyrska easily spun out phrase after phrase of gorgeous legato..."
Opera Wire
Jamie Barton Appears on Houston Life TV
Mezzo Jamie Barton and costume designer Jessica Jahn appear on Houston Life, taking audiences behind the scenes of Houston Grand Opera's production of Norma in Resilience Theater.
April 26, 2018
Mezzo Jamie Barton joined costume designer Jessica Jahn on Houston Life, taking audiences behind the scenes of Houston Grand Opera's production of Norma in Resilience Theater.
Norma, which stars Barton as Adalgisa opposite Liudmyla Monastyrska in the tile role and Chad Shelton as Pollione, opens April 27 and runs through May 11, with tickets available via HGO.
Pianist and Composer Jorge Mejia Profiled in UM Connect
"Being in Miami allowed me to continue growing as a multicultural citizen, and I never felt that my identity had to be wrapped up in just one facet of who I am." Ahead of the release of An Open Book: A Memoir in Music on Sony Latin, composer and pianist Jorge Mejia is profiled in UM Connect.
April 25, 2018
Photo by Laura Coppelman
““Being in Miami allowed me to continue growing as a multicultural citizen, and I never felt that my identity had to be wrapped up in just one facet of who I am.””
Pianist and composer Jorge Mejia speaks with UM Connect about cultural identity, recording with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, and sneaking into Frost to practice piano as a high school student!
An e-book alternating narrative vignettes with orchestral preludes recorded by the composer with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, An Open Book is inspired by Mejia’s colorful family history in Colombia, musical coming-of-age, and charming romantic misadventures en route to meeting his wife, women’s rights advocate Amanda Mejia.
An Open Book will be celebrated with a reading and performance at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center. The performance will feature a chamber orchestra, including members of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, accompanying the composer at the piano. Co-presented by Miami cultural mainstay Books & Books, the launch concert kicks off Mejia’s Latin American tour, which will also include appearances in Ecuador and Uruguay.
Jorge Mejia Featured in El Nuevo Herald
“A musician who exemplifies the confluence that makes Miami unique.” Ahead of the release of An Open Book: A Memoir in Music on Sony Latin, composer and pianist Jorge Mejia speaks with El Nuevo Herald.
April 22, 2018
Photo by Laura Coppelman
““A musician who exemplifies the confluence that makes Miami unique.””
Ahead of the release of An Open Book: A Memoir in Music, pianist and composer Jorge Mejia spoke with El Nuevo Herald about cultural identity, musical genres, and how his dual careers inspire his work in both Latin music and classical music.
An e-book alternating narrative vignettes with orchestral preludes recorded by the composer with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, An Open Book is inspired by Mejia’s colorful family history in Colombia, musical coming-of-age, and charming romantic misadventures en route to meeting his wife, women’s rights advocate Amanda Mejia.
An Open Book will be celebrated with a reading and performance at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center. The performance will feature a chamber orchestra, including members of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, accompanying the composer at the piano. Co-presented by Miami cultural mainstay Books & Books, the launch concert kicks off Mejia’s Latin American tour, which will also include appearances in Ecuador and Uruguay.
Corinne Winters Makes Australian Debut
“Winters glides, she soars with a magnificence of coloratura that is merely the theatrical expression of a wholly consistent characterisation, sometimes coolly self-possessed in the face of tightly controlled desire, sometimes enraptured, sometimes very convincingly at the edge of despair. This is a very contemporary Violetta – musically flawless but with a convincing and enshrouding self-possession…” Corinne Winters brings her signature role to Opera Australia in the beloved Elijah Moshinsky production of La traviata in Melbourne.
April 17, 2018
““A commanding, sometimes cool, sometimes rent Violetta from the American soprano Corinne Winters…””
American soprano Corinne Winters makes her Australian debut in the beloved Moshinsky production of La traviata at Opera Australia. Conducted by Carlo Montanaro, La traviata runs through May 11. Tickets can be purchased via Opera Australia.
Photo by Jeff Busby
Read more reviews:
"The ideal vehicle for introducing a star soprano... The Opera Australia debut of American Corinne Winters was rapturously received. Winters brings an abundance of knowledge to her signature role. She is as much an actor who sings as an operatic star. Her ease and fluidity on the stage allow her to relax into the character and focus on many elements which breathe life into a character. Ms. Winters’ dark and rich vocal tone handled with ease the many vigorous demands Verdi makes of his protagonist. This was a captivating portrait which drew well-deserved applause."
ConcertoNet
"Warm and expressive, ultimately catching fire during Violetta’s demise in the final act..."
Bachtrack
"Riveting performances... As Violetta lies distraught and dying, Winters comes into her full strength, giving a genuinely moving performance. Singing Violetta’s lament, “Addio, del passato,” Winters in full control and is seen and heard at her best."
Man in Chair
"Winters was at her best as the ailing Violetta of Act III, capturing the despair and desperation of a dying woman with affecting authenticity, her voice pale and pianissimo."
Canberra Times
"Winters’s vocal range and emotive portrayal of Violetta were on display and it was impossible not to be entranced."
The Plus Ones
"Winters worked the festivities vivaciously in creamy-rich voice as Violetta... Stirred by emotion and pondering if Alfredo could be the one when left alone singing “È strano! ... Ah, fors’è lui,” Winters bloomed marvellously. It was the emotional emphatic bursts on single phrases that genuinely crowned her performance."
Herald Sun
“The rich sound and particular texture of Winters' voice is unique. A powerful actor, her final act was especially potent with her voice often floating with sustained fragility.”
ArtsHub
“A commanding, sometimes cool, sometimes rent Violetta from the American soprano Corinne Winters… It is hard to fault Winters. She glides, she soars with a magnificence of coloratura that is merely the theatrical expression of a wholly consistent characterisation, sometimes coolly self-possessed in the face of tightly controlled desire, sometimes enraptured, sometimes very convincingly at the edge of despair. This is a very contemporary Violetta – musically flawless but with a convincing and enshrouding self-possession that rises to meet the implicit tragedy with which Verdi, almost against the odds, transfigures melodrama into tragedy.”
The Saturday Paper
Corinne Winters Is 'On The Couch' With Australian Arts Review
"It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but daring to be oneself, especially when it means standing alone, is real bravery..." Ahead of her Opera Australia debut as Violetta in the beloved Moshinsky La traviata, Winters speaks with Australian Arts Review.
April 13, 2018
““It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but daring to be oneself, especially when it means standing alone, is real bravery... Inspired people uplift others, creating a domino effect that has the power to change the world.””
Ahead of her Australian debut in the beloved Moshinsky production of La traviata at Opera Australia, American soprano Corinne Winters spoke with Australian Arts Review.
Conducted by Carlo Montanaro, La traviata runs through May 11. Tickets can be purchased via Opera Australia.
Photo by Fay Fox
'Think You Hate Opera? Corinne Winters Wants To Change That'
"Opera changes people on a molecular level. The unamplified voice is a frequency that changes them. Maybe my particular frequency, my particular aesthetic, won't move everybody – but it could move someone." Corinne Winters speaks with Spectrum in Australia’s The Age newspaper.
April 10, 2018
Photo by Fay Fox
““Opera changes people on a molecular level. The unamplified voice is a frequency that changes them. Maybe my particular frequency, my particular aesthetic, won’t move everybody – but it could move someone.” ”
Ahead of her Australian debut in the beloved Moshinsky production of La traviata at Opera Australia, American soprano Corinne Winters spoke with Spectrum in Australia's The Age newspaper. Conducted by Carlo Montanaro, La traviata runs through May 11. Tickets can be purchased via Opera Australia.
All Who Wander Wins 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award
“No one who has heard Jamie Barton in action is in any doubt about the American mezzo-soprano’s gifts. She boasts an expansive, robust vocal sound, tinged with richly varied colors, and she deploys it with a distinctive combination of heroic power and tender intimacy. So the splendors of her debut release don’t exactly come as a surprise. But that hardly diminishes the joy of listening to Barton’s expressive, full-throated performances.” Jamie Barton's debut solo album has won the Vocal Category of the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Awards.
April 6, 2018
““The long wait for Jamie Barton’s debut recital disc was worth every minute. Barton is wonderfully idiomatic in Dvořák and Sibelius, and she and her pianist give a performance of Mahler’s Rückert Lieder that is up there with the greatest.””
Jamie Barton's debut album, released on Delos Music, has won the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award. Accompanied by pianist Brian Zeger, All Who Wander features lush, romantic melodies by Mahler, Dvorak, and Sibelius. All Who Wander was also nominated for an International Classical Music Award in the Vocal Recital category, and was one of six Solo Vocal albums shortlisted by Gramophone for their Classical Music Awards.
Photo courtesy of BBC Music Magazine
Corinne Winters Featured in Limelight Magazine
“Beautiful tone draws people in, but primal emotion breaks hearts – an easy thing to forget after years of higher education and trying to ‘get it right.’” Ahead of her Opera Australia debut, Winters appears in Australia’s Limelight Magazine.
April 6, 2018
Photo by Fay Fox
““Beautiful tone draws people in, but primal emotion breaks hearts – an easy thing to forget after years of higher education and trying to ‘get it right’.””
Ahead of her Australian debut in the beloved Moshinsky production of La traviata at Opera Australia, American soprano Corinne Winters spoke with glossy, print, and digital cultural outlets in Sydney and Melbourne.
Conducted by Carlo Montanaro, La traviata runs through May 11. Tickets can be purchased via Opera Australia.