Nothing stayed in the background, of course, with the powerful American mezzo Jamie Barton, famous waver of the Pride rainbow flag at the Last Night of the Proms in 2019. Each of her three numbers struck a different musical note.

The soloists sang with freedom, flair and excitement; you could hear them putting their personal stamps on each number. Barton’s swaggering zeal, accompanied by visual imagery from generations of gay protest marches, felt downright inspirational.

Most striking about Barton’s interpretation of the role was the character’s vulnerability, made possible through her soft-pedaling of Amneris’s vicious side. Her Amneris was still spiteful, but one understood her jealousy and outrage more.

Barton brought a terrifically full voice and overflowing heart to Nettie Fowler. 

The heart and soul of the LBO’s performance was Barton. As Mother Earth, she stood at the mandala’s raised center, leading the call-and-response proceedings by voice, meditational cue, and charismatic expressiveness.”

In the hands of Sanikidze, Lipman, and Barton, On Mars was a haunting, ominous and eventually hopeful meditation on the nature of humankind’s uncertain future. Barton was a superb choice for the material.

Barton owns her role with a rare kind of confidence, a kind of here-I-am manner of occupying space that deprives the character of all the ridicule and objectification.

Barton delivered one of the most artistically superb performances one has seen at the Met these past several seasons. Her singing was show-stopping and by far the most successful part of the evening.

With the majestic pull of her boundless alto voice, Jamie Barton - after Tove's death - turned the song of the wood dove into a magical dirge.

Barton was absolutely wonderfully in sync with the music and orchestra. There are many recordings of ‘Das Lied’ and many singers are famous in that regard, from Kathleen Ferrier to Christa Ludwig. Jamie Barton slipped right into the ranks of the best singers of all time.