Una Barry is from London of Irish parents and has enjoyed a busy career down the years whereby her extensive repertoire from the baroque to the present day and her outstanding musical ability have enabled her to accept solo engagements and broadcasts all over Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe as well as in Australia, Finland and Kenya. This repertoire covers the operatic stage with her time at Kent Opera and Scottish Opera in roles such as The Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Aminta in Mozart’s Il Rè Pastore and The Priestess in Gluck’s Iphigenie in Tauris, as well as in song recitals and in oratorio for which in recent years Una is best known. As The Daily Telegraph wrote of her Manchester Midday Concert, “Una Barry possesses a strong, true soprano voice which is the expression of a marked intelligence and a vivid response”. She has sung for Kings College, Cambridge in Bach's St John Passion, with Pro Cantiones Antiqua of London in Belgium, Spain and Germany, giving performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneus, The Fairy Queen, King Arthur and Handel's Acis and Galatea. She has also performed in Belgium at the Flanders Festival in Tongeren Basilica Concerts as soloist in performances of Handel's Athalia as well as Judas Maccabæus in German in Düsseldorf. In Switzerland she gave a series of opera and operetta concerts, and in Finland three critically acclaimed performances of Verdi's Requiem and recently in Chester Cathedral a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis where it was said in the press that her “quality of tone resulted in a thrilling performance”. Recent periods of study in Bayreuth with Anna Reynolds and Jean Cox has enabled her to delve into the more dramatic operatic repertoire of Beethoven, Verdi, Puccini and Wagner as well as continue with her present repertoire. Una is now continuing her vocal studies with Josephine Veasey and in the immediate future she will be in St David’s Hall, Cardiff for Bruckner’s Te Deum and Mozart’s Requiem, then to Darlington for Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, Poulenc’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Concert Aria: Ah! Perfido, and the first performance of Stuart Johnson's Requiem. Una also will be singing in Elgar's The Apostles in Macclesfield and has a song recital in London later in the year.

Reviews

Una Barry possesses a strong, true soprano voice which is the expression of a marked intelligence and a vivid response. A group of Britten settings by Auden was unusual but fascinating and Miss Barry displayed the comprehension that makes her performances of such interest.

Manchester Midday Concert
The Daily Telegraph
 

Una Barry is a soprano with a voice that has great beauty and dramatic in quality and colour.

Purcell's The Fairy Queen
Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland
La Tribune de Genève
 

Una Barry's interpretation showed such a range of vocal and emotional expression, revealing a great depth of understanding.

Verdi's Requiem
York Minster
The Yorkshire Post
 

Una Barry was impressive with her full expressive soprano voice, additionally through which she was able to produce a darker mezzo quality in the lower register.

Handel's Messiah
St Stephen's Church, Mainz, Germany
Allgemeine Zeitung
 

Una Barry's rich, dark toned 'in memoriam aeterna' could have been a love song from Rusalka itself. This was an elating realisation.

Dvorak's Requiem
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
The Times
 

Una Barry was electrifying in her final unaccompanied soprano lines.

Handel's Israel in Egypt
RAI, Naples, Italy
Reviewed by The Glasgow Herald
 

Una Barry sang the demanding soprano role of Michel, daughter of Saul, and the Witch of Endor, and went on to give a fine account of both roles.

Handel's Saul
Aberdeen Town Hall, Scotland
The Aberdeen Daily Times
 

Una Barry has a voice of great beauty, perfectly controlled. She gave a most impressive performance.

Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise
Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, Wales
The Swansea Evening Herald
 

Soprano Una Barry sang throughout with a moving sincerity, expressing Verdi's profound emotions with a strength sustained to the end. Her 'libera me' was radiant.

Verdi's Requiem
York Festival, York Minster
The York Evening Press
 

For all the majestic moments, memories will surely linger on the soaring beauty of the voice of Una Barry in her soprano aria 'Hear ye, Israel'.

Mendelssohn's Elijah
Bury St Edmunds Cathedral
East Anglian Times
 

The team of soloists actually changed in the course of the evening, and the soprano was replaced by Una Barry, stepping from the audience to the front and singing beautifully.

Bach's Mass in B Minor
Church of the Holy Name, Manchester
Manchester Evening News
 

The commitment of David Johnston and Una Barry, as Delila, in the argument scene, seemed so intense that only the conductor kept them apart for their own safety! Her beautiful voice was most impressive when joined by the gleaming trumpet in 'Let the bright seraphim' and again in the duet 'By faith and truth'.

Handel's Samson
Deal, Kent
East Kent Mercury
 

Una Barry, a new and vibrant soprano.

Stanford's Te Deum
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
The Times
 

Una Barry, making her first appearance, created a very good impression. Quietly assured, no histrionics, she nonetheless showed an understanding of the operatic style needed.

Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle
Lowestoft, Suffolk
The Lowestoft Journal
 

Delila was sung by the soprano Una Barry who gave faultless performances of her arias, including the well known 'Let the bright seraphim'.

Handel's Samson
St Julian's Church, Auderghem, Brussels
The Brussels Bulletin
 

Soprano Una Barry made the Germanic smoothness of tone, which blended perfectly to make a genuine Beethoven sound.

Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasia
Aberdeen Town Hall
The Aberdeen Daily Times
 

A splendid performance of Kodaly's Te Deum, the solo contribution of Una Barry, whose dynamic range coped wonderfully with the building.

Dvorak's Te Deum and Kodaly's Te Deum
York Minster
The Yorkshire Times
 

Soprano soloist, Una Barry, had the lion's share of the work for she also featured in the Poulenc Gloria earlier in the evening. Her performance of 'Upon gloomy night' was taxing but she maintained an enviable clarity throughout.

William Mathias's Lux Aeterna and Poulenc's Gloria
Bury St Edmund's Cathedral
East Anglian Times
 

Una Barry chose a very well balanced programme and achieved a nice balance of style, mood and period. Throughout the recital, Miss Barry showed an exceptional understanding of the material.

Bononcini, Beethoven, Fauré and Walton
Song recital accompanied by piano at Colchester Institute
Essex County Standard
 

Miss Barry's power, composure and sureness of pitch in such difficult terrain should stand her in good stead.

Dodgson, Rodrigo and Sor
Song recital accompanied by guitar at
he Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Manchester Evening News
 

The soprano soloist, Una Barry, with a splendid, strong and sensitive voice and formidable range, gave an excellent performance, all the more creditable since she had twenty-four hours' notice when the singer originally engaged was taken ill.

Verdi's Requiem
Grimsby Town Hall
The Grimsby Daily Telegraph
 

Four fine soloists were recruited. In some ways, they treated this almost as a second Beethoven opera - but then one must ask when masses or oratorios become opera. The Missa Solemnis is a great piece of theatre and the four soloists treated it as such. … Miss Barry's quality of tone resulted in a thrilling performance.

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
Chester Cathedral
Chester Chronicle
 

Una Barry sang in a very well balanced way without being self-indulgent. Her interpretation was very clear, straightforward as well as being extremely sensitive.

Bach's Mass in B Minor
St Stephen's Church, Mainz, Germany
Allgemeine Zeitung

Repertoire

ORATORIO AND ORCHESTRAL

• All major oratorios and cantatas from the baroque to the present day
• Major symphonies requiring soprano soloist as well as orchestral song cycles and concert arias

OPERA

Spinto/Jugendlich-Dramatischer Category

RECITALS

Recital programmes to include the French, Italian, English, German and Russian song repertoire across the centuries

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

Una welcomes the opportunity to perform new works

SOME SPECIFIC AND OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY CONCERT REPERTOIRE PERFORMED

• Beethoven: Six Gellert Songs for soprano and piano
• Beethoven: Ah! Perfido for soprano and orchestra
• Berg: Seven Early Songs for soprano and piano/orchestra
• Carter: Horizons for soprano, choir and orchestra
• Copland: In the beginning for soprano and unaccompanied choir
• Fanshawe: African Sanctus
• Finzi: Dies Natalis for soprano and string orchestra
• Goehr: Four Songs from the Japanese for soprano and piano
• Handel: Nine German Arias for soprano, violin, and continuo
• Haydn: Scena di Berenice: cantata for soprano and orchestra
• Haydn: Miseri noi, misera patria: cantata for soprano and orchestra
• Holst: Four Songs for voice and violin
• Howells: In Green Ways for soprano and piano
• Jacob: Three Songs for soprano and clarinet
• Janacek: Glagolitic Mass for SATB soloists, choir and orchestra
• Mahler: Symphony No 4 for soprano and orchestra
• Mathias: Lux aeterna for soprano, alto, choir and orchestra
• Messiaen: Chantes de terre et de ciel for soprano and piano
• Messiaen: Poèmes pour mi for soprano and orchestra
• Patterson: Millennium Mass for soprano, choir and orchestra
• Pehkonen: Russian Requiem for soprano, alto, choir and orchestra
• Poulenc: Airs Chantés for soprano and piano
• Respighi: Il Tramonto for soprano and string quartet (or string orchestra)
• Scarlatti, D: Salve Regina for soprano, strings and continuo
• Schoenberg: Four Songs op 2 for soprano and piano
• Schoenberg: String Quartet No 2 for soprano and string quartet
• Schoenberg: Gurrelieder (Tove) for six soloists, choir and orchestra
• Vaughan Williams: Songs of William Blake for soprano and oboe
• Vaughan Williams:Along the Field for soprano and violin
• Villa Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No 5 for soprano and eight cellos
• Walton: A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table for soprano and piano or orchestra
• James Wilson: Good Friday Journey for soprano and piano
• James Wilson: The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo for soprano and piano - both cycles especially commissioned for Una Barry and John Gough

Contact details and further information

e-mail Una Barry