The Artists: Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Canadian mezzo-soprano Kimberly Barber’s extraordinary artistic spirit defies categorization. Her eclectic and varied career combines not only the standard repertoire sung on some of the great opera house and concert stages of the world, but also contemporary and baroque works with smaller, experimental companies.
Her operatic credits include Opéra de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Marseille, ENO, and the Canadian Opera Company in repertory as diverse as Dorabella, Rosina, Hermia in Britten's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Samuel Barber’s Erika (VANESSA), and Nicklausse/Muse in LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN. Recognized for the verisimilitude of her portrayals of the trouser roles of Mozart, Handel and Strauss, she is renowned for the intensity and depth of her interpretations of such roles as the Composer, Xerxes, Ariodante, Nerone (AGRIPPINA), Cherubino and Annio (CLEMENZA DI TITO).
On the concert stage she has performed with the London Symphony, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Mostly Mozart Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, the Chicago, Montréal and Toronto Symphonies, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Her frequent collaborations with pianist Steven Blier and the New York Festival of Song, with performances at Wigmore Hall in London, Weill Hall, and the 92nd Street Y in New York, have shaped her interest in presenting art song in an accessible format. Her deep attention to text and musical interpretation are hallmarks of her performances as a recitalist.
Ms Barber’s discography includes her Concepciòn in Ravel’s L’HEURE ESPAGNOLE for Deutsche Grammophon under André Previn leading the London Symphony Orchestra, her first solo recording for CBC Records, “Faustina Bordoni: Faces of a Prima Donna” with Ensemble Arion and the title role of Handel’s RINALDO for Naxos Records with the Aradia Ensemble under the direction of conductor Kevin Mallon.
Kimberly Barber is an Associate Professor of Voice at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, where she is Administrative Coordinator of the Opera Program.
Visit Kimberly online at www.barber.de.
