Richard Barrett’s career has encompassed almost
every aspect of operatic theatre. He is currently active as a Conductor,
Stage Director, Lighting Designer and Academic Professor. From 1993 to 2000
Mr. Barrett was Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for Fort Worth Opera,
where he opened the new Bass Performance Hall in a gala concert with celebrated
mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and subsequently conducted the first opera in
the hall with performances of La Bohème. Highlights during his tenure
in Fort Worth were performances of Aida, Don Giovanni, Susannah, Cosi Fan
Tutte, and Lucia di Lammermoor. Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram music
critic, rated Mr. Barrett’s performance of Lucia di Lammermoor as number
three behind performances of Itzhak Pearlman and Renee Fleming, in Bass Hall’s
inaugural season. Most recently he was director and lighting designer for
Opera Illinois’s production of La Traviata. William Bender, former Arts Editor
for Time Magazine, called his performance “one of the finest performances
of this opera that I have ever seen.” Highlights in 2004 included performances
of two Rossini operas, Signor Bruschino and La Pietra del Paragone, at Teatro
Sociale in Brescia, Italy, a gala performance with Metropolitan Opera Tenor,
Richard Leech, Werther, with the International Vocal Arts Institute, Tel
Aviv, Israel, La Rondine, with the Brooklyn Center for the Performing
Arts and The Medium, at the Danny Kaye Playhouse, New York. Maestro Barrett’s
repertoire includes over 100 operas and an extensive orchestral list. For
the last eight years he has led the Orchestra at Brooklyn College Conservatory
of Music where he produced the American Premiere of Darius Milhaud’s opera
Christopher Colomb. Allan Kozin, of the New York Times, wrote , “Mr.
Barrett’s conducting was precise and well paced-drawing a beautiful sound
from his players”. He also produced a film version of Aaron Copland’s
opera Tenderland, which won a Telly award for Outstanding Production. In
addition to being a performer, Mr. Barrett currently works with several Young
Artist programs here and abroad, including the International
Institute of Vocal Arts, Chiari, Italy, China National Opera, Beijing, People’s
Republic of China, Israeli Vocal Arts Institute, Tel Aviv, Israel, Nagano
Summer Vocal Institute, Nagano, Japan and the New Israeli Opera Young
Artist Program, Tel Aviv, Israel. Also, Mr. Barrett is a tenured Professor
at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, serving as director of
the Opera Theatre and Voice Department.
As Artistic Advisor for Fort Worth Opera, Mr. Barrett was involved in fund
raising activities as well as negotiating union contracts for the company.
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