Handling Handel

Dublin-born Patricia Bardon Makes Her Metropolitan Opera Debut In Giulio Cesare

By John Mooney

Patricia Bardon has followed in the footsteps of the great John McCormick as an Irish-born star at the Metropolitan Opera this month.

The Dublin native plays Cornelia, wife of the Caesar's archrival, Pompey, who is murdered in Handel's Giulio Cesare. She plays a widow seeking revenge for her husband's death.

"Cornelia is a dignified, beautiful woman who suffers a terrible tragedy. In the first act, she is presented with husband's head! Yet her music is touching and heartfelt," Bardon explained. "Four hours later, she's happy because of the revenge."

The singer is as surprised as anyone with her career path. She grew up in a working class household in which her father was a salesman for a bread company. Educated at a convent school, she was encouraged to train her incredible voice.

"I always knew I could sing," said Bardon, who loved listening to Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin on the radio when she was young. "My music teacher said that I 'really should do something about that voice and have it trained' and introduced me to Dr. Veronica Dunne."

At age 15, Bardon was given a consultation lesson with Ireland's preeminent singing teacher. Just three years later, while still a student at the Royal College of Music in Dublin, she entered as Ireland's representative in the very first Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and became the youngest ever prizewinner.

"When I started, I thought, Opera - that's fat people," she exclaimed. "But I certainly enjoyed having my voice trained, and it's the direction I found myself going."

Today, the mezzo-soprano's vocal range and versatility enable her to sing works by giants such as Gluck, Rossini, Bizet and Verdi. She has an extensive Handel repertoire and is one of the world's "go to" singers for opera companies mounting productions by the great German composer. Her familiarity with the music made for a less stressful debut at the Met.

"The Met is what one aspires to; all opera singers dream of performing in New York," she explained. "I felt well-prepared and excited, instead of being in a state of nerves. I am really enjoying it."

Bardon and the others in the cast rehearsed daily for three and a half weeks before the curtain rose on April 6. She won high praise from New York Times reviewer Anthony Tommasini, one of the most influential critics in the world, who wrote: "We are in an age of great Handel singers, among them... the rich-toned Irish mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon, as Cornelia."

Tommasini added that "Her sublimely sorrowful duet with the excellent British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, as Sesto, should advance the cause of Irish-English relations when word reaches overseas."

The opera star says she doesn't go out of her way to read reviews and that if her husband reads a positive one, she will look it up online. Bardon is married to Nick Sears, head of the vocal department of the Royal College of Music in London. They have a six-year-old son named Harry.

"If you get a bad review, it puts you in a negative place, and then you have to go out and continue to do the role. I try to keep away from negative stuff," added the singer, who has been pleased with her New York performances and reviews at the Met.

In addition to her operatic work, Bardon is a successful concert artist who has sung with the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and was a guest performer at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles' 50th birthday celebration. Her future opera projects take her to Amsterdam, Chicago, Helsinki, Washington, Vienna and Covent Garden.

The opera star tends not to listen to classical music during her free time ("It's too much like work.") She enjoys a wide range of music, including Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, and Aretha Franklin. She has contemplated recording a CD of Irish songs and seems to be one of the few musical stars born in Ireland who has not yet performed with The Chieftains. She says that she would love to sing a duet with Bono.

Why See An Opera

Ireland does not have a great opera tradition. It's something that Patricia Bardon hopes will change.

"Opera combines amazing spectacle, acting, live orchestra and the human voice. It's a high art form," she said. "Some people are intimidated because they don't speak Italian or German. You don't have to."

"It's a bit pricey, but no more expensive than going to a baseball game," she said. "I would encourage people to give it a go. Handel's operas are long, but it's a fantastic journey. He was a genius."

Bardon claims to be "very normal" and "somewhat of a home bird" who enjoys cooking Italian food, drinking great wine and singing at home. She enjoys being on the road when her three older sisters come to visit her, but misses seeing her little boy when she performs in America.

"My son came to see Act I this week. It starts too late for him to stay for the whole thing," Bardon explained. "He loves coming backstage before the show and seeing me performing in costume."

"The theatre is pure magic for a child. I think he's proud of me," she added. "He loves music. After all, it's in his genes."