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About
Tenor René Barbera has quickly established himself as one of today’s most exciting young vocal artists. The first-ever sole recipient of all three awards of the Operalia Competition in 2011 and winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition in 2008, René has earned critical praise and audience acclaim for his effortless singing, his “old-fashioned warmth” (Opera News), and his expressive musicality.
This season, René will make a number of house debuts: with the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor; at Teatro alla Scala Milan as Ernesto in Don Pasquale with conductor Riccardo Chailly; at Teatro Verdi Trieste as Lindoro in L‘Italiana in Algeri; at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia as Tito in La clemenza di Tito; and for the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich as Ramiro in La cenerentola. Other upcoming engagements include I puritani at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and a return to the Opera National de Paris as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Recent performance highlights include his Metropolitan Opera debut as Lindoro; his first Alfredo in La traviata in Palermo, Italy; Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Almaviva, and Iopas in Les Troyens in San Francisco; Don Ramiro in debuts with the Seattle Opera and Los Angeles Opera; Ernesto with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Tonio in La fille du régiment with Greensboro Opera; Almaviva with Los Angeles Opera; Giannetto in La gazza ladra and Narciso in Il turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; Rodrigo in Rossini’s La donna del lago in his Santa Fe Opera debut; and the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
René is a graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, and Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program.
A Texas native, René avidly follows the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Cowboys from his home in Berlin. At ease in both Italian and Spanish, he has a special affinity for the language, people, and cuisine of Italy. He is an enthusiast of all things “tech,” from gaming to gadgets, and continually seeks out the latest innovations in home automation and video games. René is also an avid motorcycle rider and collector of Robert Graham designer clothing.