About

Rachel Barnard is a Polish-British mezzo-soprano who recently graduated with a Masters in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Scott Johnson and Lorna Anderson. She previously graduated with First Class Honours from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she studied with Anne Dawson.

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Rachel has sung with British Youth Opera and is a former Young Artist at Waterperry Opera Festival and Leeds Lieder Festival.

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In summer 2023 Rachel was a semi-finalist at the New Voices Competition at the Northern Aldborough Festival. At the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland she performed the role of Adza in Chabrier's L'étoile. 

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In 2022, Rachel was a Young Artist at Waterperry Opera Festival, where she performed in the chorus for their productions of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared. Other roles include Mother/Other Mother in Coraline (Turnage) and Ferdinand in The Enchanted Island (arranged by Sams), both at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Previous roles in Opera Scenes include The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen, Janáček), Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Mozart) and Ruggiero (Alcina, Handel)

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With a strong love for song repertoire, Rachel has received first prize in the Norma Grieg French Song Prize, the Edward Brooks Lieder Prize and the Stuart Cameron Smith American Song Prize. In December 2022, she performed as 2nd soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria under the baton of Andrew Nunn with the RCS Choir. In masterclass settings she has had the chance to work with singers including Nicky Spence, Elizabeth Watts and Catriona Smith.