"Without closely mimicking the sound of any famous tenor, Barbera has his own distinctive, warm, and winning timbre. He has even, total control of dynamics from a hushed pp to a literally hall-shaking forte. His voice is evenly supported across its range, and his intonation is outstanding..." - William Thomas Walker, Classical Voice of North Carolina 2008
Mr. Barbera is in his second year of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he will be performing in Carmen, Ballo in Maschera, Fanciulla del West, and Lohengrin. Earlier this year he was a featured soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Philharmonic respectively. Most recently René performed the role of Don Ramiro in the Ryan Opera Center’s production of La Cenerentola.
He began singing at the age of 10 as a boy soprano in the San Antonio Boys’ Choir. In high school he was a member of the Texas All-State choir his junior and senior years. Mr. Barbera was invited to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria in the summer of 2003, and the Vocal Arts Symposium of Colorado Springs in 2004. In 2004 he won the largest award given to undergraduate vocalists at the North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied from 2004 – 2008. In 2006 he won first place in the 5th annual Heafner/Williams Vocal Competition as well as first place in the undergraduate division of the Charlotte Opera Guild Vocal Competition. In 2007 he participated in the Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition where received the grand prize of a concert with the Greensboro Symphony in their 2008 season. In the spring of 2008 René won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In the summer of 2008 he participated in the Merola Opera Program where he performed in the Schwabacher concert as well as the Grand Finale.
Photo by Donald Dietz
