‘Jane Barbier - Shrew’d Syren’

LHF favourites Opera Settecento and Musical Director Leo Duarte perform a special programme that explores works that made Barbier famous and tells the story of her infamous life.

Jane Barbier was one of the first generation of English singers to sing Italian operas in London. Noted for her ability to convince in both male and female roles, Barbier sang parts in Handel’s Rinaldo, Il Pastor Fido, and Teseo, before moving to Drury Lane and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where musical entertainments were sung in English. She led a lifestyle that made her the talk of the town; eloping; returning unmarried; gambling in South Sea stock; winning; retiring; and returning to the stage.