When American soprano Barbara Quintiliani debuted at Washington National Opera in 2002 as Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo, itwas heralded as the “start of a significant operatic career.” She returned to Washington National Opera in 2003 as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni under the direction of Placido Domingo, and has sung Gulnara in Verdi’s Il corsaro with Sarasota Opera, the title roles in Lucrezia Borgia and Luisa Miller for Opera Boston, Liù in Turandot with Opera Madison, andLeonora in Il trovatore with Austin Lyric Opera, all to critical acclaim. For her performance in Luisa Miller, The Boston Globe called Ms. Quintiliani “the Verdi soprano the world has been waiting for.” Ms. Quintiliani recently became the first American woman in over 25 years to win First Prize in the International Singing Contest Francisco Viñas, and was also awarded the Verdi Prize and the Public Prize. Following her success in the competition, she made her debut with Gran Teatre del Liceu as Elettra in Idomeneo.  She also appeared on the televised Washington Opera Gala in the sextet from Don Giovanni under the direction of Valery Gergiev.

Ms. Quintiliani recently appeared as Elvira in Ernani with Opera Boston, where critic David Shengold heralded her as commanding “the most genuinely exciting and beautiful Verdian soprano on the continent.” In the 2008-2009 season, Ms. Quintiliani will cover the title role in Lucrezia Borgia with Washington National Opera, sing Verdi’s Requiem with Boston Landmarks Orchestra, join 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World, Shenyang for a concert at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, and bow in a concert gala with L'Opéra de Montréal. She will also be showcased in a Verdi Gala with Toledo Opera and, in April of 2009, cover the title role of Cherubini's Medea with Opera Orchestra of New York.

Equally at home in the concert repertoire, Ms. Quintiliani has appeared in concert with leading orchestras across the country. Recent appearances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Madison Symphony, her Carnegie Hall debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s New Years’ Eve gala, and the Verdi Requiem with the Virginia Symphony. Ms. Quintiliani’s debut recording of the Three Poems of Fiona McLeod by Charles Griffes with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of JoAnne Faletta was recently released on the Naxos label.

She has worked under such notable conductors as Heinz Fricke, Valery Gergiev, Claire Gibault, Stephen Lord, Edoardo Müller, Jose Serebrier, Patrick Summers and Anthony Walker.

As a frequent recitalist, Ms. Quintiliani is currently on the roster of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Under the auspices of the Foundation, she made her Weill Recital Hall debut as part of The Song Continues… 2004 and recently appeared in recital for the On Wings of Song series and the Bank of America Celebrity Series. Ms. Quintiliani has also appeared in recital for the Artsong of Williamsburg, the Dame Myra Hess Recital Series, the Phillips Collection, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Virginia Waterfront Arts Festival.

In January of 2006, Ms. Quintiliani won First Prize as well as the Verdi Prize and the Audience Prize at the 43rd International Singing Contest Francisco Viñas. In 1999, Ms. Quintiliani was one of the five national grand-prize winners for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In addition, she was the first place winner of the 1999 Marian Anderson International Vocal Arts Competition, the first place winner of the 2000 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, and in 2001 was awarded a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.

A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, Ms. Quintiliani is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music where her teachers included Kathleen Kaun and Anna Gabrieli. She has since apprenticed with the prestigious young artist programs of the Washington National Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera. The Boston Globe described Ms. Quintiliani’s voice as “…drop-dead gorgeous, with pearly-lustrous timbre, supple cantilena and high notes that open out into the hall with real glamour.”