Cheryl Barker AO – Vocal Adjudicator
Cheryl Barker AO has established a distinguished Operatic Career throughout the UK, Europe,
USA and Australasia.
She has performed for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Welsh
National Opera, Paris Opera, Nederlandse Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, National Opera du Rhin, De Vlaamse Opera, La
Monnaie, Opera Holland Park, Reis Opera, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera,
Minnesota Opera, Vancouver Opera, Taipei Opera, Opera Queensland, Opera Australia, State
Opera of South Australia, Opera New Zealand, Victoria State Opera and Western Australian
Opera.
Her many roles have included the title roles in Jenufa, Tosca, Suor Angelica, Madama Butterfly,
Manon Lescaut, Rusalka, Arabella, Salome (both for which she won green room and Helpmann
awards), Adrianna Lecouvreur, Francesca di Rimmini, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe, Katya
Kabanova.
Other roles include Countess/Le Nozze di Figaro, Adina/L’elisir d’amore, Mimi in the award
winning Baz Luhrmann production of La boheme, Violetta/La Traviata, Donna Elvira/Don Giovanni,
Tatyana/Eugene Onegin, Nedda/I Pagliacci, Antonia/The Tales of Hoffmann, Giorgetta/Il Tabarro,
Lauretta/Gianni Schicchi, Marschellin/Der Rosenkavalier, Madeleine/Capriccio, Chrysothemis/
Elektra, The Governess and Miss Jessel/The Turn of the Screw, Desdemona/Otello, Musetta/La
Boheme, Marie/Die Tote Stadt, Salud/La Vida Breve, Jenifer/A Midsummer Marriage, Micaela/
Carmen, Emilia Marty/Vec Makropoulos, Marzelline/Fidelio, Oksana/Christmas Eve, Kate/Kiss me
Kate. She created the role of Sarah in Jake Heggies Opera The end of the Affair for Houston
Grand Opera.
She has appeared in concert at Londons Wigmore Hall, The Barbican Royal Festival Hall, Royal
Albert Hall, Konzerthaus Wien, Koningin Elisabethzaal Belgium, at the Brisbane, Melbourne,
Spoletto Festivals, The Australian Festival of Chamber Music and with the SSO, QSO,
MSO,WASO.
Most recently she performed the role of Gertrude in Brett Deans Hamlet for the Adelaide Festival.
Recordings include Puccini Passion, Pure Diva (Melba Recordings), Seduction & Persuasion, Don
John of Austria, Beethoven 9 (ABC Classics), La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Marschallin in Der
Rosenkavalier OA (CD & DVD) Madama Butterfly, CD of Great Operatic Arias with the LPO, Katya
Kabanova, Quo Vadis, Rusalka, Makropoulos Case (Chandos), Madama Butterfly (Belgium and
Netherlands Television).
Cheryl was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours
and also holds an Honorary doctorate of Music conferred by the Victoria College of the Arts.
A video chat between Cheryl and Katy Frewen-Lord can be viewed at: https://acvc.com.au/2016-competition/