Guadalupe Barrientos
Argentinian mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Barrientos has established herself as one of the leading dramatic mezzos of her generation. Equally acclaimed in the Italian, French and German repertoires, she is admired for the richness of her voice, her commanding stage presence and the breadth of a repertoire that encompasses Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, French opera and the great symphonic works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Born in Buenos Aires, she studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte of the Teatro Colón before completing her training at the Opera Studio of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata. She further refined her artistry through scholarships to study with Julia Varady and at the Institute for Dramatic Voices, founded by the legendary mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick, experiences that helped shape her evolution towards the dramatic repertoire.
Her exceptional talent has been recognised by selections for the world’s most prestigious international competitions, including BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (2019), Operalia (2019), the Montserrat Caballé International Competition at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu (2021), and Neue Stimmen (2011). In her native Argentina, she has been honoured three times by the Argentine Association of Music Critics, receiving the award for Best Argentine Singer in 2013, 2021 and 2024.
She made her debut at the legendary Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in 2012 as Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, beginning a close relationship with Argentina’s leading opera house. Since then, her international career has taken her to major stages including Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, SNG Maribor, the Ópera de Tenerife, the Municipal Theatre of Santiago de Chile and the Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro.
Her extensive operatic repertoire reflects her exceptional versatility. It includes many of the great dramatic mezzo roles such as Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Amneris (Aida), Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), Dalila (Samson et Dalila), the Princesse de Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur), Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Charlotte (Werther), Carmen, Adalgisa (Norma), Fricka (Das Rheingold), Mère Marie de l’Incarnation (Dialogues des Carmélites), Fenena (Nabucco), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), among many others.
Alongside her operatic career, she has become a distinguished interpreter of the great symphonic repertoire. Her concert performances include Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 and 8, and Das Lied von der Erde, repertoire that highlights both the dramatic amplitude and lyrical refinement of her voice.
Her forthcoming engagements reflect the continued expansion of her international career. Highlights include Stravinsky’s Les Noces alongside Martha Argerich and Charles Dutoit, her United States debut with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in Verdi’s Requiem, Ježibaba in Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Seoul Arts Center, Il trittico at the Teatro Colón, and appearances in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Yerma at the Ópera de Tenerife.
Representation : World