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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