Classical crossover soprano Bárbara Padilla dazzles audiences with her transcendent voice.

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Classical crossover soprano Bárbara Padilla dazzles audiences with her transcendent voice. Fluent in Spanish, English Italian and French, her imaginative, enchanting vocal performances celebrate life’s colorful cast of characters, human resiliency and hope and exhibit her passion for a wide range of genres. Bárbara was born raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she took piano and dance lessons and delighted in the stunning recordings of pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles Gounod and Joaquín Rodrigo and the interpretations of legendary vocalists such as Plácido Domingo and Edita Gruberova.

Bárbara officially resolved to become a singer in high school while studying with Alicia González Pacheco, one of the premier voice teachers in her home city. She began singing with choirs throughout the city as she honed her vocal technique and enrolled in the program at the School of Music of the Universidad de Guadalajara, where she excelled both as a musician and an academic. During this time, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, fighting the disease while keeping up with her studies, strengthened in her resolve to thrive by music. Three years after her diagnosis, she was the soprano section leader and soloist of the State Choir of Jalisco. To ensure she received the best treatment, Bárbara traveled to the U.S. to visit the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for a second opinion. While there, she was asked to audition at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music and was offered a full scholarship. After several rounds of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation that should have damaged her vocal cords, doctors predicted she would never sing again. But after she returned to Guadalajara for a life-saving bone marrow transplant, astoundingly, the quality of her voice was unaffected.

Fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and French, Bárbara has been particularly inspired by dynamic musical pioneers including Maria Callas and Renée Fleming. Her approach to singing is honest and informed by years of diligent preparation; she revels in learning as much as possible about each piece of music she sings, including its origin and why the composer created it. This academic approach to her craft coupled with her fearless, nuanced interpretations of pieces across genres has attracted the attention of renowned artists, musicians and entertainers worldwide and endeared her to fans. She has performed as a soloist at symphonic events and has given concerts and recitals throughout the United States, Italy and Mexico. Her repertoire spans from beloved operas such as La Boheme, Turandot, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, to poignant oratorios like Verdi’s and Mozart’s Requiem Masses and other masterworks including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Joseph Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Her versatility has allowed her to excel at “popera,” and she has sung favorite songs within that genre such as “Time To Say Goodbye,” “Gira Con Me Questa Notte,” Alfonsina y El Mar” and others.

Fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and French, Bárbara has been particularly inspired by dynamic musical pioneers including Maria Callas and Renée Fleming. Her approach to singing is honest and informed by years of diligent preparation; she revels in learning as much as possible about each piece of music she sings, including its origin and why the composer created it. This academic approach to her craft coupled with her fearless, nuanced interpretations of pieces across genres has attracted the attention of renowned artists, musicians and entertainers worldwide and endeared her to fans. She has performed as a soloist at symphonic events and has given concerts and recitals throughout the United States, Italy and Mexico. Her repertoire spans from beloved operas such as La Boheme, Turandot, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, to poignant oratorios like Verdi’s and Mozart’s Requiem Masses and other masterworks including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Joseph Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Her versatility has allowed her to excel at “popera,” and she has sung favorite songs within that genre such as “Time To Say Goodbye,” “Gira Con Me Questa Notte,” Alfonsina y El Mar” and others.

 

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