The dramatic soprano joins the boutique agency’s roster of singers, conductors and stage directors.
“The Verdi soprano the world has been waiting for.”Boston Globe
“If there is any justice in the opera world, Quintiliani should be heading for superstardom.” The Times (London)
Athlone Artists is pleased to welcome the one-of-a-kind soprano Barbara Quintiliani to the boutique agency’s roster of opera and concert artists, conductors and stage directors.
Ms. Quintiliani came to opera for the first time on a school field trip at age 16 and was instantly captivated. “I remember the sound of the orchestra and voices filling my ears. They grabbed me down deep in my soul! I said to myself: ‘Whatever that is, you need to go there to that place and make it your life.’”
Despite a difficult and itinerant childhood, Ms. Quintiliani immediately began pursuing a life in music, eventually graduating from the New England Conservatory and going on to win prestigious competitions around the world. She became the first American woman in twenty-five years to be awarded First Prize in the Francisco Viñas Singing Competition in Barcelona in 2007 and has since garnered an international reputation for taking on the most difficult roles in the dramatic Italian repertory with ease and aplomb, including Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Gulnara in Il Corsaro, and Lina in Stiffelio; Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia andAnna Bolena; Cherubini’sMedea; Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine; and Bellini’s Norma.
“Since I first saw Barbara Quintiliani perform the title role in Luisa Miller, I knew this was a true Verdian soprano in the making,” says Athlone Artist’s Miguel Rodriguez. “Later, her performances in Lucrezia Borgiacemented her in my mind as one of the great American singers. Today, I’m excited to welcome Barbara to the Athlone Artists roster as she enters this next stage of her vocal career with roles like Norma, Abagaille, Turandot, and more.”
About Ms. Quintiliani’s recent turn in the title role in Wexford Festival Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Padilla,Opera Todaywrote, “Barbara Quintiliani earned every superlative,”whileOpera News proclaimed,“the evening belonged, thrillingly and unequivocally, to Barbara Quintiliani.”
Ms. Quintiliani is equally at home on the concert stage whether sharing the beauty and excitement of Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mahler’s Second Symphony, or of lesser known works for soprano and orchestra like Samuel Barber’s concert aria Andromache’s Farewell, Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ Three Poems of Fiona McLeod, and Hector Berlioz’s “La Mort de Cleopatre.”
Ms. Quintiliani is an active recitalist and alumna of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. The great mezzo-soprano saw to Ms. Quintiliani’s development as a recital artist, and under the auspices of her foundation, Ms.Quintiliani made her Carnegie Hall debut in the “As The Song Continues” series and traveled throughout the country leading outreach programs for public school children. She has since performed in recital for Bank of America Celebrity Series, The Dame Myra Hess Foundation Recital Series and The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival among others.
Ms. Quintiliani has been the recipient of the Grand Prize in the National Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, First Place in the Marian Anderson International Vocal Arts Competition, First Place in the Eleanor McCollum Competition at The Houston Grand Opera, First Place of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, and a Sarah Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. Ms. Quintiliani participated in renowned young artist training program such as the Santa Fe Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Washington National Opera.
