Jamie Barton at The Wallis

Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage–lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities. Her lively social media presence on Instagram and Twitter (@jbartonmezzo) serves as a hub for conversations about body positivity, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. In recognition of her iconic performance at the Last Night of the Proms, Ms. Barton was named 2020 Personality of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards. She is also the winner of the International Opera Awards Readers’ Award, Beverly Sills Artist Award, Richard Tucker Award, and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, for which The Guardian described her as “a great artist, no question, with an imperturbable steadiness of tone, and a nobility of utterance that invites comparison not so much with her contemporaries as with mid-20th century greats such as Kirsten Flagstad.”

Kathleen Kelly’s practice combines her skills as pianist, coach, conductor, writer, and advocate. Recently, she appeared internationally in recitals with Jamie Barton and Ryan McKinny, released recordings with Emily Albrink and Caitlin Lynch, and returned to the New National Theater Opera Studio in Tokyo to lead performances of Gianni Schicchi. She introduced the groundbreaking Collaborative Piano Playbook for the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society with co-author Elvia Puccinelli, and contributed a chapter on current industry practice for Chanda Vanderhart’s book Accompaniment in America. She is co-librettist with Michael Kelly for The House of Yes by Kamala Sankaram, slated for premiere at Wolf Trap Opera in 2027; this is her second collaboration with Sankaram after the 2021 filmed opera INTERSTATE.