Jamie Barton's Princess Eboli Is 'The Star of The Evening' in WNO Don Carlo
March 7, 2018
Photo by Scott Suchman
““Even in a cast as extraordinarily strong as this one, Barton rises above. She radiates such boisterous joy in singing that it’s impossible not to be taken under her spell. She alternates lines of exquisite bel canto lyricism and then shoots declamatory passages like laser beams into the upper tiers of the opera house. Her “O don fatale” elicited one of those magical operatic moments where time stops, and at the end of her final phrase you realize you forgot to breathe.””
Mezzo Jamie Barton makes her American role debut as the scheming Princess Eboli in a new Tim Albery production of Verdi's Don Carlo at Washington National Opera.
Led by conductor Philippe Auguin, the legendary cast – including Russell Thomas in the title role, Leah Crocetto as Elisabetta, Quinn Kelsey as Rodrigo, Eric Owens as King Philip, and Andrea Silvestrelli as the Grand Inquisitor – performs at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through March 17, 2018, with tickets available via WNO.
Read reviews:
“The star of the evening, elevating the mezzo role of Princess Eboli from vengeful femme fatale to a wounded but sympathetic courtier, both perpetrator and victim of the palace’s sexual intrigue. Her Veil Song was coy and sultry, and the showstopping “O don fatale” was a magnificent study…”
Washington Post
"Jamie Barton seized on every opportunity, vocal and theatrical, offered by the role of Eboli. She unleashed her ripe mezzo with enough power to push you back in your seat, but she also drew you in with the communicative animation and depth of her phrasing."
Opera News
“Barton dominated the stage on her every appearance. You quickly realized how immensely powerful her instrument could be, but her vocal agility and dynamic range amazed the most.”
Bachtrack
“Wows in power and agility. Most impressive was the deft control she possessed over such a force that was wielded as a conduit of artistry rather than brutality. A joy from start to finish."
MD Theatre Guide
"Barton used her brazen chest voice, elemental in power, to dominate the stage with arrogant spite, as steady and beautiful in ensembles as in solos."
Washington Classical Review
“A tour de force of musicality and emotionality [that] rightly deserved the thunderous applause it received.”
DC Theatre Scene
“Perhaps the biggest ovation of the evening came for Jamie Barton as Eboli after her aria “O Don Fatale.” In this passage, this incredible artist let her voice blast through the hall with unsurpassed vibrancy and control. Every moment was gloriously sculpted.”
Operawire