Orfeo in ORFEO

The Metropolitan Opera

“She achieves a rare standard of beauty: an even, rich voice across a broad range; easy, unfussy legato and richly expressive declamation. Barton’s noble performance of Orfeo’s great lament played not as a standout 11 o’clock number, but rather was knit together with the long and lofty preceding scene of arioso dialogue with Orfeo’s revived but heartbroken wife Euridice.”
–James Jorden, Observer

“Her plush, melting voice was ideal for the music… You basked in the sheer richness of her sound. And she held the stage, endearing as Orfeo. As an artist who has talked openly about her struggles with dieting and has advocated that singers of all body types perform opera, she put her point into action.”
–Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

“Jamie Barton’s performance as Orfeo on Sunday stands as the latest in a run of successes at the Met for the American mezzo-soprano… She sang with a conviction that gave her lower range a certain ferocity. Otherwise, it was simply a joy to listen to her focused, powerful, dusk-hued mezzo. Barton has a gift for breathing emotion into a seemingly uncomplicated line of music, enriching her vocal characterization even in a relatively small phrase. Nowhere was this more apparent than in her sublime rendition of “Che farò senza Euridice?,” full of soft grief as she lamented Euridice’s death a second time.”
–Eric C. Simpson, New York Classical Review

“Barton wields a supple, golden mezzo-soprano… She delivered a majestic and stunningly plangent ‘Che farò senza Euridice?’ the opera’s most memorable aria.”
–Harvey Steiman, Seen and Heard International

“As always, it’s the Barton voice that takes center stage. Equal parts mellow richness and brilliant thrust, her vibrant mezzo balances the lyrical and dramatic… She built from strength to strength, culminating in a richly expressive rendition of Orfeo’s famous lament “Che farò senza Euridice?” with tasteful variations in the repeats. The restrained emotional power and eloquence of her singing matched with her imposing presence created a powerful center to Morris’ production.”
–Eli Jacobson, Gay City News

“Jamie Barton’s Orfeo was voluptuously sung and convincing in conveying the hero’s anguish, yet it also had an admirable dignity and Classical restraint. Wisely, she shied away from overt displays of volume, especially in chest voice. Her “Che farò senza Euridice” was moving and she interestingly varied the aria’s close to make it sound less ordinary in comparison with the 1774 French revision. In addition, wearing a black smock and black trousers, Barton was visually credible in the role, one written for the celebrated alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni.”
–George Loomis, Musical America

“For this revival, the Met returned to form and cast Georgia native Jamie Barton as Orfeo, her first performance in the role. She follows in the footsteps of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Stephanie Blythe, the two mezzos who have essentially owned the role at the Met in recent decades. It seems an ideal fit for her large, rich, expressive voice. Dressed in a black suit with her hair cropped…a reasonable price to pay for such glorious singing. This was Barton’s night, and it was a promising milestone for her ascendant career.”
–James L. Paulk, ArtsATL

“With apologies to Gluck, "Che faremmo senza Jamie Barton?" — “Where would we be without mezzo Jamie Barton?” — in the revival of Mark Morris's production of Orfeo ed Euridice at the Met. Barton, who has shown herself to be indispensable in repertoire from Bellini to Wagner to Heggie, took on her first title role and pants role at the Met and showed her breadth of her vitality as a singer, along with the velvet in her voice. This included her golden rendition of the opera's most famous aria, alluded to in the first paragraph, "Che faro senza Euridice?" in which Orfeo bemoans the loss, forever it seems, of his spouse.”
–Richard Sasanow, Broadway World

“Restraint also marked Jamie Barton’s voluptuously sung Orfeo, which was convincing in conveying the hero’s anguish yet also had an admirable dignity. Wisely, she shied away from overt displays of volume, especially in chest voice. Her ‘Che farò’ was moving and she varied the aria’s close to make it sound less ordinary in comparison with the later French revision. Wearing a black smock and black trousers, Barton was visually credible in the role, written for the celebrated alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni.”
–George Loomis, Opera

“The main role in this revival has been given to the versatile mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, whose rich, mellifluous voice is ideal for this music. From the three initial cries to the rendering of “Che faro senza Euridice?”, she filled the Metropolitan Opera House with the sound of her glorious instrument.”
–Edward Sava-Segal, Bachtrack

“The very welcome return of Gluck’s sublime Orfeo ed Euridice that embraced elegant conducting, joyous dancing and an extraordinarily accomplished hero in Jamie Barton…singing her first-ever Orfeo and her first-ever trouser role. Once she went to Hell, her singing evolved into Gluckian Heaven! Channeling her inner-Johnny Cash while faux-strumming a guitar, Barton confidently, almost insolently pled and seduced those not-so-fearsome furies. In Elysium, she compellingly conveyed her awe in a wonderfully rapt “Che puro ciel” and once that pesky nag was back with the dead Barton’s opulently gripping yet infinitely moving “Chè faro senza Euridice” drew tears, as any great Orfeo must. It’s much tougher to do that with the 1762 version which lacks the climactic high notes of Gluck’s revision but Barton’s subtly ornamented rendition proved irresistibly gripping… In less than a month the Met has offered up three marvelous diva home runs: Angel Blue’s wounded, radiant Bess; Anna Pirozzi’s ferocious Lady Macbeth; and now Barton’s anguished yet triumphant Orfeo, a brand-new portrayal sure to only get better as the run continues.”
–Christopher Corwin, Parterre Box