Recent and future engagements for Barnaby Rea include ERSTER HANDWERKSBURSCHE Wozzeck Royal Opera House Covent Garden, KONRAD NACHTIGALL Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Teatro Real Madrid, BOTTOM A Midsummer Night’s Dream Oper Frankfurt and Des Moines Metro Opera, COLLINE La Bohème Opera Holland Park, ANANIAS The Burning Fiery Furnace and BARON ZETA Die Lustige Witwe Oper Frankfurt, RATZEKAHL Irrelohe Opéra de Lyon and MITYUKHA Boris Godunov Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse.
Previous engagements include TRUFFALDIN Ariadne auf Naxos Edinburgh Festival, POSEIDON Die Odyssee Oper Zürich, HOBSON Peter Grimes Teatro Real Madrid, SNUG A Midsummer Night’s Dream Deutsche Oper Berlin, QUINCE A Midsummer Night’s Dream Opéra de Rouen, COLLINE Opera North and Opera de Guatemala, MASETTO Don Giovanni, MOTHER The Seven Deadly Sins Scottish Opera, ALCADE/CHIRURGO La forza del destino, DER PLEGER DES OREST Elektra Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, and ALIDORO La Cenerentola, BERTRAND Iolanta, ZARETSKY/CAPTAIN Eugene Onegin, BONZE Madam Butterfly, ROCCO I Gioielli della Madonna Opera Holland Park.
He was a member of the Oper Frankfurt ensemble from 2016 to 2020 where roles included SPARAFUCILE Rigoletto, SOLJONY Tri Sestri, TRUFFALDINO, LORD TRISTAN MICKLEFORD Martha, NACHTIGALL Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, PISTOLA Falstaff, BOSUN Billy Budd, ZARETSKY Eugene Onegin and HOBSON.
As a Harewood Artist at English National Opera (2013-2016) roles included SPARAFUCILE, BASILIO The Barber of Seville, COLLINE, LODOVICO Otello, NOURABAD The Pearl Fishers, PRIVATE WILLIS Iolantha, and BEN BENNY Paul Bunyan.
Past concert engagements include the BBC Proms, the Bergen, Edinburgh and Ensecu Festivals. Concert venues include London’s Royal Albert, Royal Festival and Queen Elizabeth Halls, the National Concert Hall in Dublin and the Mariinsky Concert Hall in Moscow. Recordings include Die Lustige Witwe, Tri Sestri and Martha (Oehms Classics) for Oper Frankfurt, a live version of HMS Pinafore (Linn Records) at the Edinburgh Festival and Peter Grimes (Chandos Digital) with the Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester which was awarded Best Classical Recording of 2021 by Gramophone magazine.
Barnaby trained at the National Opera Studio and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and continues to study with John Evans.
Christopher Broom
Phone: +44 208 768 6604
Mobile: +44 7778794397
Email: chris@atholestill.co.uk
Representation: Worldwide
News | Barnaby Rea
News | Barnaby Rea
"Barnaby Rea gave a superlative performance as Sparafucile, his stage presence combining black menace with a sense of griminess that was entirely at home in this production, while his rich, resonant bass made for a thrilling vocal performance."
Backtrack
"The other [great performance] comes from Barnaby Rea’s Sparafucile: lean, mean, handsomely sung and lethally creepy."
The Guardian
"A scene-stealing turn from Barnaby Rea as Judge Pitkin."
The Independent
"Barnaby Rea's Banquo was most impressive: his is a resonant bass but flexible too and tellingly used here."
Opera Magazine
"If there was a standout performance in this flawlessly matched cast, it would have to be Barnaby Rea as a definitive Nick Bottom. I have seen many very fine performers in this role, but none has infused Bottom with a vigorous, responsive bass of such charismatic presence, wedded to an unimaginably varied comic sensibility (...) it was hard to look away from his magnetic presence (...) His posturing as Pyramus dominated that scene with an innate star presence. Mr. Rea contributed a masterful achievement"
Opera Today
"(...) while all the supporting roles were cast from strength – especially Barnaby Rea’s sepulchrally-voiced First Apprentice who made an auspicious house debut."
MusicOMH
"Bass Barnaby Rea is another house debut as the First Apprentice. It is incredible that this fine bass, who has established himself thoroughly in mainland Europe, is only now appearing at Covent Garden"
Operawire
"Barnaby Rea and Alex Otterburn simmer with vocal and physical energy as the Apprentices"
The Stage
"Rea is a terrific Colline, forthright yet sensitive, his characterisation nicely contrasting with Thatcher’s fastidious, slightly camp Colline."
The Guardian
"Barnaby Rea, who asserts his tremendous bass, is Colline and an aspiring cinematographer. Thus when Colline is heard falling outside the garret in Act I, we see Rea tumble from a stepladder as he fulfils one of his duties as a filmmaker in a deliberate mixing of the story and the shooting of it."
MusicOMH
"(...) Barnaby Rea not only sang is farewell to his coat rather well, but he made it part of the character's musico-dramatic arc rather than the 'here's my famous aria' moment."
Planet Hugill
"Finally, let us salute the Briton Barnaby Rea whose flexible and impactful / percussive bass as well as a real stage presence give substance to the character of the peasant Mitiouka, rather physically abused in the Prologue. "
Classic Toulouse
"Barnaby Rea asserts himself in Mitioukha, the voice is strong and presents an elegant grain. "
Olyrix
"Barnaby Rea is excellent as Hobson and completing a very fine cast was Robert Murray as the awkward Methodist Bob Boles"
The Article
