Waltraute & 2nd Norn in GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG

San Francisco Opera

“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.”
–Clive Paget, Limelight Magazine

“Götterdämmerung, the long denouement of the Ring, began Sunday afternoon with the three Norns, mezzo-sopranos Miller and Barton and soprano Sarah Cambidge, luminously recapitulating events amid greenery and a jumble of rubber cables… Barton also sang a brooding Waltraute, who warned her sister Brünnhilde that the ring must be returned to the Rhinemaidens.”
–James Ambroff-Tahan, SF Examiner

"The Norns…sing their knowledge – Jamie Barton with a chesty middle register – until the node for the cables falls in a shower of sparks. Barton also makes a second appearance as a painfully desperate Waltraute, cutting straight to the heart with her ‘Wehe! Wehe!’."
–Ilana Walder-Biesanz, Bachtrack

“Jamie 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.”
–John Masko, Parterre Box

“The two female trios that frame “Götterdämmerung” with ostentatious symmetry were both splendidly delivered… Barton, who had made a formidable Fricka in the cycle’s first two operas, did double duty as Brünnhilde’s sister Waltraute in Act1.”
–Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

“Jamie Barton deployed her opulent mezzo-soprano to eloquent effect…”
–Allan Ulrich, Opera Magazine

“All three Norns (Ronnita Miller, Jamie Barton, and Adler Fellow Sarah Cambridge) have marvelous voices and technique, but it is the intriguing visual effect of this scene that sticks in the memory... As the story moves along to its sad, but ultimately life-affirming, ending, musical highlights include a thrilling performance by Jamie Barton as Brünnhilde’s sister Valkyrie, Waltraute. Barton has a huge voice, of enormous strength, and yet gives no impression that she is pushing or even coming close to her full capacity. Even in the midst of a swelling fortissimo in the highest registers, she maintains firm control of dramatic nuance. She has been described as a “great artist” and even been compared to the legendary Kirsten Flagstaff and her performance as Waltraute confirms that assessment."
–Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm