Congratulations to Student Horizons Ambassador and ASPIRE Compère Jason Barry-Smith who in his role as Assistant Director, is receiving rave reviews for his involvement with the 200th anniversary of ‘The Barber of Seville’, currently playing at QPAC.
‘The Barber of Seville’ is referred to as “a delicious dose of comedy and effervescent music” and is co-produced by Opera Queensland and the New Zealand Opera Company. From the end of July, the production will tour the East Coast of Queensland all the way to Cairns.
About Jason Barry-Smith
Jason Barry-Smith’s study in Brisbane, Munich, London and Rome led him to a singing career where he’s a familiar and commanding presence on the Australian operatic stage, and is equally in demand as a singing teacher, conductor and arranger.
With 39 opera and music theatre roles in his repertoire, Jason is an exceptionally versatile performer who is a firm favourite with Australian audiences. He has performed premieres of operas, musicals, and concert works with symphony orchestras in Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, and New Zealand, as well as with the Queensland Pops Orchestra, and operas all around Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Japan. Many of these performances have been captured on CD and DVD.
As a musical director and chorus master, Jason has contributed to music theatre productions such as Into the Woods, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and The Merry Widow. He’s also conducted and arranged for some of Australia’s best loved artists as musical director of the nationally televised Christmas spectaculars, The Lord Mayor’s Carols (2005) and Carols in the City (2011 to 2013).
In 2014, Jason took on the role of Creative Director for the critically-acclaimed Project Puccini – an Opera Queensland initiative in which regional Queensland performers became the chorus members for a professional production of La Boheme; and is following it up again in 2016 with Project Rossini – The Barber of Seville.
Jason is also a much admired singing teacher, and many of his students are currently starring in shows around Australia, on the West End and on Broadway. He has held the positions of Sessional Singing Teacher at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and Director – Young and Developing Artist Program at Opera Queensland.
Photo courtesy Opera Australia