Barstow, Dame Josephine (Clare)

Barstow, Dame Josephine (Clare), noted English soprano; b. Sheffield, Sept. 27, 1940. She studied at the Univ. of Birmingham (B.A. in English), the London Opera Centre, and with Eva Turner and Andrew Field. In 1964 she made her operatic debut as Mimi with Opera for All. In 1967 she made her first appearance at the Sadler’s Wells Opera in London as Cherubino, and sang with its successor, the English National Opera, from 1974. She also sang with the Welsh National Opera from 1968. In 1969 she joined London’s Covent Garden, where she created the roles of Denise in The Knot Garden (1970), the Young Woman in We Come to the River (1976), and Gayle in The Ice Break (1977). On March 28, 1977, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Musetta. In 1983 she appeared as Gutrune in the Ring cycle at Bayreuth. In 1986 she made her first appearance at the Salzburg Festival creating the role of Benigna in Penderecki’s Die schwarze Maske. Her appearances in the title role of Gloriana with Opera North in Leeds in 1993 and at Covent Garden in 1994 won her critical accolades. She returned to Opera North to reprise her portrayal of Gloriana in 1997. In 1999 she appeared as Poulenc’s Mother Marie at the English National Opera. In 1985 she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 1995 a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Barstow is a versatile singer whose repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary roles.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire