Adalgisa in NORMA

Metropolitan Opera

"Ms. Barton, who won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June, has a big, rich voice from the top to the bottom of its range. Singing her first major role at the Met, she entered on Thursday with joyful seriousness and clarity of purpose, tenderly reaching toward the chains of mistletoe left at the altar from the Druids’ rites. In her aching aria, 'Deh, proteggimi, o Dio,' she seemed actually at prayer, a private moment on which the audience spied."
–Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times

"As for Barton, she is a fresh wonder of the opera world, possessing a voice of preternatural beauty and power. She has a remarkable ability to keep the vocal line afloat amid pauses for breath; she'd swell on a note, take a breath, and then resume at even greater volume, tricking the ear into thinking that the phrase had never been broken. To see these young artists reveling together in their voices makes you believe unswervingly in the future of the art."
–Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise

"Her voice rich and focused, Ms. Barton added a luminous presence, serious but joyful, that suffused her singing..."
–Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times

"But the night belonged to Jamie Barton, recent winner of Cardiff’s Singer of the World competition, and a sensitive, attentive artist with a stunning and flexible sound. As the guilt-ridden, errant young priestess Adalgisa, Barton carved her short opening arioso and prayer with detail and genuine presence. She brought appropriate delicacy to the duet with her secret lover Pollione, and was particularly impressive in the duets with Meade, leading into “Ah! Rimembranza” with a hypnotic description of Adalgisa’s first glimpse of Pollione."
–Judith Malafronte, New York Classical Review

"It isn't often that cast changes lead a monthly report from the Metropolitan Opera, but the two performances of Angela Meade as Norma and Jamie Barton as Adalgisa produced the house's best singing so far this season. It was like the old days – two singers unfurling some truly heavenly sounds, on their own and together. Meade and Barton offered creamy tone, effortless range, welcome intensity and a lovely blend in the duets. Their presence elevated the entire performance."
–John Rockwell, Opera Magazine