Power and Glory: Fleur Barron on Her Carnegie Hall Debut
Photo Credit: Victoria Cadisch
When Fleur Barron stepped to the microphone to accept her first Grammy Award last month, her thoughts turned not to personal triumph but to the composer whose vision she had helped realize. The mezzo-soprano had won Best Opera Recording for her performance as the title character in Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater with the San Francisco Symphony — a recording made just days after the Finnish composer's death in 2023.
"This opera explores issues most of us are processing — war, cycles of violence… — we are so grateful to Kaija for putting out something so courageous and beautiful into the world," she noted in her acceptance speech, focusing on the work's resonance. This moment encapsulates Barron's artistic approach: thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply invested in the stories she tells.
Despite her recent Grammy win and performances with leading orchestras worldwide, Barron's path to acclaim didn't follow the conventional trajectory. There was no prodigy narrative, no single competition that catapulted her to stardom — just what she describes as a "slow and steady" ascent built on curiosity, versatility, and a willingness to question traditional approaches.
Born to a British father and Singaporean mother, Barron grew up primarily in Hong Kong until moving to New York City at age 14. As a child, she studied piano, violin, and clarinet but admits she "was really bad at all of those." Unlike many of her peers who pursued music from childhood, Barron initially studied Comparative Literature at Columbia University before an epiphany in her senior year made her question her academic path.
"I had this sort of epiphany senior year — do I really want to spend the rest of my life in a library?" she recalls. "I think I'll end up disengaged from real life somehow."
This realization led to a spontaneous, last-minute audition at Manhattan School of Music — one she describes as "kind of a disaster." With minimal vocal training and what she calls "debilitating stage fright," Barron stumbled through two Handel arias in what she remembers as inappropriate attire ("what my teacher later called 'a slip and bedroom slippers'"). Nevertheless, her inherent musicality and knowledge of languages earned her admission.
"I was completely overwhelmed, surrounded by people who had been studying voice for years," she says of her conservatory experience. "I was literally trying to learn how to phonate. At the same time, I felt the pressure to be more advanced than I was."
After conservatory, Barron followed the prescribed American opera path, completing young artist programs at Ravinia, Tanglewood, Opera Theater of St. Louis, and other prestigious institutions. Yet something was missing. "In the States, it's pretty much opera or nothing," she explains. "That's all we hear about in school and in the young artists training — it's nice that you like to do recitals, but you really need to be focused on opera."
Sensing her artistic potential extended beyond traditional opera, Barron decided to move to Europe, seeking both family connection (her father's relatives live in the UK) and broader performance opportunities. "I figured Europe would be a more logical place to be based because they do more Baroque opera, there's a lot of recitals and chamber music... I think there's just more opportunities to have a career with a broader base."
The gamble paid off. In 2019, Barron was signed by IMG and had a packed season of major debuts lined up. Then the pandemic hit — which, surprisingly, she describes as "a relief in my professional head." "I was doing all these important things and making decent money. This is what I'd always thought I wanted to do. But actually, it was quite stressful," she reflects. "The pandemic was tragic because of the impact on human life, but for me on a professional level, it was a welcome forced pause. I really needed to take stock of where I was at and reorient why I was doing what I was doing."
This reflection led Barron to one of her most personal projects: The Power and the Glory, a recital program exploring colonial history and identity that she curated in 2020 and continues to evolve with pianist Kunal Lahiry. The program, which they'll bring to venues including Carnegie Hall in March 2025, weaves together music from various traditions.
"I would consider myself a child of empire," says Barron, referencing her upbringing in Hong Kong during its transition from British rule back to China and her Eurasian heritage. "This colonial ghost is very much in my life. I thought it'd be really fulfilling to do a program that explores that.'"
The program features composers ranging from Mahler, Schönberg, and Messiaen to Ruth Crawford Seeger, Ernesto Lecuona, and Kamala Sankaram, alongside commissioned works by Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei and Uyghur composer Zubaida Azezi. Each piece is carefully positioned to create meaningful juxtapositions and reveal connections across cultures.
"We tried to find pairings of repertoire that made sense," Barron explains. "For instance, we juxtaposed the Montsalvatge — a Spanish composer sympathetic to the Cuban cause in the Spanish-American War — with a song by Ernesto Lecuona, a Cuban composer who was a contemporary of Montsalvatge."
Her approach reflects a deliberate effort to avoid a common pitfall in classical programming. "In the West, when people program around Orientalism, they often include a lot of Western composers but present it as if it's the Eastern perspective," she notes. "They'll be like, 'Here are settings of Hafiz by Hugo Wolf,' with no actual Persian composer or Persian language pieces."
This thoughtful approach to cross-cultural programming raises inevitable questions about appropriation versus appreciation — a topic Barron has contemplated.
"For me, appropriation happens when people are complacent and don't do any research," she states. "It's simply a lack of respect and a lack of investment in the critical process of understanding and learning about something." By contrast, Barron describes her own process as "extremely collaborative," involving extensive language coaching, historical research, and close work with the composers she commissions. "I feel extremely honored to convey stories of different folks from different communities, and I take it very seriously," she says. "It's investment in people, a desire to honor the culture, and research time."
When asked if non-Asian performers should sing works in Asian languages, Barron takes an open stance: "One of the objectives of my programming is to encourage and inspire other performances of this music. If we say only Chinese people can perform music by Chinese diaspora composers, for example, it restricts access and performability. And I'm sure most composers would love to have their works performed as much as possible!" Her only stipulation is that people "do their research and take the time to learn the diction well and understand what they're saying and what the context is for the piece."
Throughout our conversation, Barron repeatedly emphasizes the importance of collaboration — not just as a professional necessity but as a source of joy and creative energy.
"It's such a joy to make music with friends because it's just a comforting thing," she says of her partnership with pianist Kunal Lahiry. "He's one of my most regular collaborators for chamber music. He's a very exciting pianist and, kind of like me, extremely versatile."
Their creative relationship exemplifies the kind of artistic dialogue Barron values: "We challenge each other... We're not afraid to have uncomfortable conversations when we're rehearsing about why we're including something, or really dig deep into why we're doing what we're doing."
This collaborative spirit extends beyond her immediate circle to the broader artistic community. Rather than keeping her commissions and discoveries to herself, Barron actively shares them with colleagues. "I've had emails from singers like, 'I really loved that song. Would you mind sending me a PDF?' I'm always happy to share that music, because that's kind of the goal."
Barron's versatility extends to her technical approach. When performing Kurt Weill, she adapts her classical technique to serve the text-driven cabaret style. For Chen Yi's Peking opera-influenced compositions, she introduces a more nasal quality. And for Uyghur folk music, she employs a belting technique that contrasts sharply with traditional operatic singing.
"I really enjoy using my voice in different ways," she explains. "Every piece requires something different, and that's part of the research. You sing with your technique and voice, but you can shift the interpretation and the style based on what the composer would have wanted."
This flexibility reflects a broader shift in the classical music world — one that Barron sees accelerating post-pandemic. "I think especially in the States, there's been a shift in terms of programming — more diverse programming and hiring, and more interest in engaged, multi-faceted artists."
For emerging artists wondering how to navigate this evolving landscape, Barron offers pragmatic advice: "It's very hard to do anything alone, so collaborate. I'm in this business because I love collaboration... My ideas are often enhanced and expanded by working with awesome people from all kinds of disciplines who view something differently than I do."
She encourages young artists to be proactive in building connections: "You're never too young to start connecting with people that you're inspired by and would like to work with."
As she prepares for her U.S. tour, which includes her Carnegie Hall debut, Barron shows no signs of slowing her artistic exploration. Beyond The Power and the Glory, her projects include Spring Snow (fusing Schubert's Winterreise with Kabuki theater), trio program Heritage with clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gloria Chien, and numerous Mahler performances.
What unites these diverse projects is Barron's commitment to bridging traditions, questioning assumptions, and creating meaningful musical experiences. In a world still grappling with colonial legacies and cultural boundaries, her approach offers a thoughtful path forward — one built on research, respect, and genuine curiosity. "Hopefully people will have a beautiful experience," she says, "but also see that programming can explore challenging issues."
Photo Credit: Barbican. London Symphony Orchestra
Fleur Barron performs The Power and the Glory with pianist Kunal Lahiry at venues across the United States in March 2025, including her Carnegie Hall debut on March 20, 2025. The program explores diverse perspectives on colonialism through works by composers including Mahler, Schönberg, Messiaen, Montsalvatge, and newly commissioned pieces by Kian Ravaei and Zubaida Azezi/Edo Frenkel.
- written by Chloe Yang.