Barbara Quintiliani (born September 24, 1976) is an American operatic soprano. Born in Quincy, Massachusetts, Quintiliani graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music before joining young artists programs, first with the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

and the Washington National Opera. In 1999 she took a National Grand Prize in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; in 2006 she took first prize in the International Singing Contest

Francisco Viñas Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

, becoming the first American woman in over a quarter-century to do so. Her American operatic debut came in 2002 with Washington National Opera, when she performed Elettra in '' Idomeneo''; this was also the role of her international debut in 2006, with the Liceu. Quintiliani has specialized in the works of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

and

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

. In particular, she has become associated with the title role in the latter's '' Maria Padilla'', which she first performed at the Wexford Festival in 2009. As a concert artist she has performed such works as the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven and '' Knoxville: Summer of 1915'', and for the Naxos label she has recorded the ''Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod'' by Charles Tomlinson Griffes. Quintiliani has

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and

Churg–Strauss syndrome Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), formerly known as allergic granulomatosis, is an extremely rare autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of small and medium-sized blood vessels ( vasculitis) in persons with a history ...

. Geoff Edgers was awarded a New England Emmy in June 2013 for work on a video for ''The Boston Globe'' entitled "Behind the Curtain: Act One of Barbara Quintiliani's Story", a ten-minute documentary about Quintiliani's life and career; he shared the award with producer Darren Durlach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quintiliani, Barbara 1976 births Living people American operatic sopranos 21st-century American women opera singers Singers from Massachusetts Classical musicians from Massachusetts People from Quincy, Massachusetts New England Conservatory alumni People with multiple sclerosis