Teaching Area(s)
Voice
Education
MM DePaul University
BM American Conservatory of Music
Courses Taught
Voice
About
After making her professional operatic debut at 19 singing Fiordiligi at the Lake George Opera Festival, Barbara Staley has gone on to perform over twenty roles with opera companies all over the world. Heralded as one of the best young dramatic sopranos by John Crosby of the Santa Fe Opera, she has sung at the Teatro di Verdi in Busseto, Italy, with the Graz Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra in Milan, Italy. Recitals in Parma, Italy, Wiesbaden and Kassel, Germany as well as Graz, Austria. She has sung such roles as the Countess in "Le Nozze di Figaro" at the Des Moines Metro Opera and Waukegan Opera, Tosca with Opera North, Cio CIo San with the Polish National Opera, Elizabeth in "Don Carlos" and Aida with the Illinois Philharmonic, as well as Donna Elvira in Graz, Austria under the baton of August Eberhart. Ms. Staley has been heard on WFMT radio in several operatic recordings.
Ms. Staley has been the winner of the National Bel Canto Competition in Busseto, Italy, Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria, Metropolitan Opera Finalist, Farwell Award Musician Club of Women, National League of Penn Women, and NATSAA Regional finals.
Ms. Staley holds a Bachelor of Music in voice performance with a minor in piano from the American Conservatory of Music, as well as a Master of Music from DePaul University (with honors) in voice performance and vocal pedagogy. Ms. Staley also holds a performance certificate from the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Ms. Staley has been on the faculty of Illinois State University and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Honor's Fraternity. Ms. Staley has done master classes at the University of Nevada, Illinois State University, Eastern Illinois University and Western Illinois University.