Patricia Bardon

Vocal Studies professor

Irish mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is the youngest ever prize-winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and is in demand for repertoire ranging from the Baroque through to Rossini and Wagner. Her distinguished career has brought numerous opportunities to collaborate in both opera and concert with a wide range of conductors such as James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Mark Elder, Christophe Rousset, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alberto Zedda, Fabio Luisi, Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Christoph Eschenbach, William Christie, Pinchas Zuckerman, Ingo Metzmacher, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Rene Jacobs.

Having studied in Dublin with Dr Veronica Dunne, Patricia’s career embraces an impressive diversity of roles: Erda in the Grammy-award-winning production of Der Ring des Nibelungen at The Metropolitan Opera, La Nourrice in Ariane et Barbe Bleu for Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Azucena in Il trovatore at Welsh National Opera, Saariaho's Adriana Mater for Opera national de Paris, Carmen in Los Angeles, conducted by Placido Domingo and her Laurence Olivier-nominated performance as Maurya in Riders to the Sea at ENO.

An acclaimed Baroque and bel canto singer, highlights have included the title roles in Giulio Cesare at The Liceu Barcelona, Orlando for the Opéra National de Paris, Rinaldo for Oper Köln as well as Cornelia Giulio Cesare for Bayerische Staatsoper, The Metropolitan Opera, ENO and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. She has sung Rosmira Partenope for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teater an der Wien and ENO (Olivier nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Opera), Andronico Tamerlano in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Amsterdam and Madrid; Bradamante Alcina in Drottingholm and Moscow, Penelope Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria for Maggio Musicale Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin Staatsoper and Athens; Ruggiero Alcina for Trieste and Montpellier, Amastras Xerxes for Montpellier, Dresden and Munich Staatsoper, Juno Semele for ENO and Innsbrook, Ottavia L'incoronazione di Poppea in Oslo and most recently Zenobia Radamisto for Theater an der Wien and at Carnegie Hall.

Bel canto highlights include Tancredi and Arsace Semiramide for La Fenice, Calbo Il Maometto Secondo for Santa Fe Opera, Smeaton Anna Bolena for San Francisco Opera, title role La Cenerentola for La Monnaie, Andromache Ermione Festival Hall, Malcolm La donna del Lago for the Edinburgh International Festival.

Enjoying an ongoing relationship with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Patricia has appeared there in productions of Guillaume Tell, Mefistofele, Rigoletto, Moise in Egitto, The Rake’s Progress (earning an Olivier nomination) and most recently in Richard Jones’ acclaimed staging of Britten Gloriana.

Patricia has extensive concert experience and has performed with many of the world’s leading Orchestras including The New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, St Louis Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Les Arts Florissants, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Koln, Academy of Ancient Music, Les Talens Lirique, The Halle Orchestra, Le Concert Spirituel, English Chamber Orchestra, RTE Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, The English Concert, Filarmonica della Scala, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de RAI, and Orchestra de Paris, in repertoire including the Bach Passions, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Verdi Messa di Requiem, Handel Oratorios, Wagner Wiesendonk Lieder and the Mahler Symphonies.

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Faculties / departments: Vocal Studies