Cheryl Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including Dvořák's Rusalka (Rusalka), Janáček's The Makropulos Case (Emilia Marty), Janáček's Káťa Kabanová (Káťa Kabanová), and Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San). She has also made two solo recordings of opera arias, one with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor David Parry and the other with Orchestra Victoria and conductor Richard Bonynge. On the stage she has had partnerships with the English National Opera and Opera Australia.
Barker studied with Dame Joan Hammond at the Victorian College of the Arts and began her career as a member of the opera chorus at the Victoria State Opera at the age of 19. She made her first solo appearance at that house as Blondchen in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the age of 23.
In 1984 Barker moved with her husband, baritone Peter Coleman-Wright, to London, so that he could assume his new position as a member of the choir at the Glyndebourne Festival. Two weeks after their arrival, Barker auditioned for and was accepted as a member of the opera chorus at the Welsh National Opera. She stayed there for the next year and a half, occasionally substituting for ailing singers in larger parts and performing the occasional comprimario role in addition to singing in the chorus.
In 1986 Barker was awarded the Dame Mabel Brookes Fellowship and was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. These accolades helped her to launch a solo career with minor opera companies during the late 1980s. She performed the roles of Marzelline in Fidelio and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro with the English Touring Opera. In 1989 she won the Royal Overseas League Competition in London. Her first major critical success came in 1990 at her debut at the Sydney Opera House as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème, directed by Baz Luhrmann.[1]
Since the early 1990s Barker has been a regular performer with all of the major opera companies in Australia. With the State Opera of South Australia she has sung Blondchen and Mimì. At the Victoria State Opera she has appeared as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, the First Lady in The Magic Flute, and Mimì. She has also portrayed Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Queensland and Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Auckland Opera. With Opera Australia she has performed Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Cio-Cio San, Desdemona in Otello, Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Affair, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Marzelline in Fidelio, Nedda in Pagliacci, and the title roles in Arabella, Manon Lescaut, and Suor Angelica. She is portrayed the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier with Opera Australia during the 2009/2010 season.[2] In 2011, Barker sang the title role in Opera Queensland's production of Tosca, a role she had portrayed before in London and Sydney.[3]
Barker's appearances with the English National Opera include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, the Foreign Princess in Rusalka, The Governess and Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Oksana in Christmas Eve, Musetta, Tosca, and the title role in Richard Strauss's Salome.
As a guest artist Barker has appeared at De Nederlandse Opera (Cio-Cio San, Emilia Marty), the Royal Opera, London (Jenifer in The Midsummer Marriage), the Scottish Opera (Adina in L'elisir d'amore, Annius in La clemenza di Tito, and Tatyana), the Vlaamse Opera (Suor Angelica, Liù in Turandot), and the Welsh National Opera (Káťa Kabanová). In 2004 she portrayed Sarah Miles in the world premiere of Jake Heggie's The End of the Affair at the Houston Grand Opera. In 2009 she sang Cio-Cio San for her first appearance with the Paris Opera.[2]
Barker has one son, Gabriel, with her husband Peter Coleman-Wright. The couple has also recorded a CD of opera duets together with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra under conductor Martin André. The family maintains homes in both London and Australia.