Dramatic Mezzo Soprano Barbara McAlister is internationally acclaimed for her voice of stunning power and dramatic strength.

 Ms. McAlister’s international career began when she won the prestigious Loren Zachary Competition in Los Angeles. This led to engagements as Santuzza, Azucena, Carmen, Eboli, Ortrud and Ulrica in the opera houses of Passau, Koblenz, Bremerhaven, and Flensburg where she was engaged for 10 years. She also appeared as guest artist at Lübeck and Bielefeld Stadtththeatres.

 Her other European engagements include Azucena in Il Trovatore with the Hong Kong Opera and at the Grand Theatre de Reims in France; Meg Page in Falstaff with Opera de Monte Carlo; and Rossweise in Die Walküre on tour throughout opera houses in Italy. She also sang the roles of Fenena in Nabucco, Ortrud in Lohengrin, and the mezzo soloist in the Beethoven’s Ninth and Verdi’s Requiem with the New Bulgarian Opera Company throughout France, Spain and Portugal.

 Highlights of recent seasons include her debut as Vera Boronel in The Consul with the Washington Opera staged by Gian-Carlo Menotti; Eboli in Don Carlo with Arizona Opera; and the roles of La Gobba and Sofia in Alfano’s opera Risurrezione with Teatro Grattacielo at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. She has also appeared  with the San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Florentine Opera, Opera New England, Anchorage Opera and New York Grand Opera in Central Park.

 Barbara has appeared as mezzo soloist in concert at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Weil Recital Hall, and has appeared with such prominent orchestras as the Houston Symphony, the Düsseldorf Symphony and the Symphony in Ulm. Of Cherokee Indian heritage, she has appeared in recital for the Mid-America Arts Alliance Touring Program and the Oklahoma State Arts Council Touring Program, singing opera arias and Native American songs in the Cherokee language. She created the role of Qualla in Lindor Chlarsson’s opera Mountain Windsong, based on the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and she played Selu in the musical drama “Trail of Tears” at Tsa-la-gi outdoor amphitheater in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Barbara apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera Companies and has sung leading roles in The Sound of Music with the Sacramento Music Theatre, and Los Angeles National Tour and Bye Bye Birdie for Theatre Land in North Carolina. Ms. McAlister has studied voice with Lee Sweetland and Steve Sweetland.

 Ms. McAlister is also a renowned Native American visual artist. Her paintings have been shown at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum and Jacobson House in Oklahoma, the Wharton Art Gallery in Philadelphia, and Bullock’s in Los Angeles. Many of her works are now in private collections throughout the U. S. and Europe. She received the Cherokee Medal of Honor in 1999 as a tribute to her multiple talents.

“Her assured mezzo and blistering range gave the necessary dark edge to Azucena.” Hong Kong Opera

“The power of her voice and presence elevates every scene in which she appears.” Tulsa World

“Her Santuzza was so powerful that the other singers appeared to be of secondary importance." Opern Welt

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