Jason Barry-Smith’s study in Brisbane, Munich, London and Rome has led him to a singing career embracing many varied musical styles in concert halls and on stages around Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, and he’s equally in demand as a singing teacher, conductor, arranger, and compére.
He’s performed in some of Opera Queensland’s most successful productions, including the Marchese in La traviata, The Sopranos – Tour, Songs to Die For, Sir Despard in Ruddigore, Dandini in Cinderella, Pish-Tush in The Mikado, Handsome in The Girl of the Golden West, Count Danilo and Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Gabriel von Eisenstein and Doctor Falke in Die Fledermaus, Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, Schaunard in La bohème, Banjo Paterson in Waltzing our Matilda, and the title roles of The Barber of Seville and Don Giovanni.
Jason has also performed the title role in Billy Budd for the Brisbane Biennial Festival of Music, Papageno in The Magic Flute for Opera Australia (Opera on the Beach), Guglielmo in Così fan tutte for the Tokyo Arts Foundation, Mathieu in Andrea Chénier and Belcore in The Elixir of Love for the State Opera of South Australia, performed Mamoud in The Death of Klinghoffer and the title role in The Barber of Seville for New Zealand Opera, Enjolras in Les Misérables for Wellington Operatic, Tony in West Side Story for Brisbane Festival, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance for Essgee Entertainment, and Escamillo in Carmen for Opera 21 in Belfast. He’s also created the roles of Aldo Marini in Mimma – A Musical of War & Friendship, Samuel in Electric Lenin for NORPA, and Julian in Quartet for the New Zealand Arts Festival.
Jason’s concert and oratorio repertoire includes Monteverdi’s ‘Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda’, Graun’s ‘Der Tod Jesu’, Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia’s Day, and The Tempest, Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, Handel’s Messiah, Jephtha, L’Allegro, il Pensiero ed il Moderato, and Dettingen Te Deum, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B minor, and cantatas BWV 1, 29, 56, 62, 80, 82, 94, 106, 112, 146, 213, Haydn’s The Creation, ‘Nelson Mass’, and ‘Paukenmesse’, Mendelssohn’s Christus, Liszt’s Via Crucis, Schumann’s ‘Szenen aus Goethe’s Faust’ (excerpts), Gounod’s Saint Cecilia Mass, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Mahler’s ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’, Stravinsky’s ‘A Soldier’s Tale’ – narrator, Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ – narrator, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s War Requiem, Gruber’s ‘Frankenstein!’, and the premiere of Richard Mills’ Symphonic Poems.
He’s also a well known singing teacher and musical director who specialises in community based arts projects, and has held the positions of Sessional Singing Teacher – Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, Artistic Director – Queensland Youth Choir, Director – Young and Developing Artist Program at Opera Queensland, and Creative Director – Open Stage at Opera Queensland.