Mezzo-soprano, Maria Kathleen Barnet, recently returned to Opera Delaware as The Duchess in The Gondoliers.  Since her debut with Opera Delaware as Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Maria made her Carnegie Hall debut with Opera Orchestra of New York as La Vecchia in L’amore dei tre Re under the direction of Eve Queler.  She also covered the role of Mistress Bentson for Opera Orchestra of New York’s production of Lakmé.  Other recent roles include Azucena with Opera in the Heights and Antonia's Mother(Tales of Hoffmann).

Maria has moved audiences with her riveting portrayals of Gertrude (Hamlet) and Madame de Croissy (Dialogues of the Carmelites), as well as entertained with her hilarious interpretations of Katisha, Little Buttercup and Marcellina.  Other credits include appearances with the Natchez Opera Festival (Third Lady, Gertrude in Romeo et Juliette), as well as appearances as Federica (Luisa Miller) and The Mother Abbess (Sound of Music).  She apprenticed for two seasons with Des Moines Metro Opera, singing the role of Maurya in Riders to the Sea, Marion Hackett in Argento’s Christopher Sly, and covered the role of The Mother in Menotti’s The Consul.

Maria began singing in her native California, and appeared with The Berkeley Opera, Lamplighters, Bear Valley Music Festival, Livermore Valley Opera, San José Lyric Theatre, Pocket Opera, and Townsend Opera Players.  Her roles included Katisha (The Mikado), La Musica (Manon Lescaut), Marcellina, Berta, Zulma and Emilia (Otello).  Additionally, she created the role of Madame Georgetown in The Berkeley Opera’s production of LeCoq’s Daughter of the Cabinet, and recorded the role of Mary in Richard Paul Evans’ Midas and Marigold for Seacastle Music.  Maria graduated from San Francisco State University and currently resides near Philadelphia.