MANDI BARRUS

Mandi Barrus (she/her), mezzo-soprano, is a musician, educator, and opera producer originally from Seattle, Washington. With her "impressive technique and clear tone", Mandi’s “warm and cozy mezzo-soprano voice” is described as "a breath of fresh air". She is known for her versatility of performance, with credits in musical theater, concerts, and opera in the US and abroad. 

​

Mandi’s 2023 season included a concert series with NEXT Ensemble as a member of the Core Ensemble for premiering new works. She also presented a solo recital “A Song for All Seasons,” as the Visiting Artist and clinician at Blinn College. Mandi sang the role of Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with the Blinn College opera students. She made her house debut with Opera San Luis Obispo as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and produced and sang in Opera Contempo’s Twice Through the Heart, an evening of opera discussing domestic violence. Mandi ended the season by workshopping the role of Artemis in Rudman and Leonard’s Protectress, a semi-staged reading of a new opera. 

 

Mandi’s 2024 season has included her return to Opera San Luis Obispo for a delightful Beauty and the Beast as Mrs. Potts; a recital “Menagerie: Beasts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance” with Utopia Early Music; and a recital “Women in Music: Songs of the Goddess” featuring female composers of the Art Nouveau era, and a premiere of a new composition, with NEXT Ensemble. She also premiered the role of Nature, written specifically for her voice by Anthony Buck in the world premiere of his new opera “Le Roman de Silence” with Opera Contempo. In September 2024, Mandi will sing the role of Mércèdes in Carmen with Lyrical Opera Theater, and will reprise the role the next month with Opera San Luis Obispo. In March 2025, Mandi will sing The Witch in Hansel and Gretel in her house debut with Rimrock Opera. 

 

Ms. Barrus has been in demand as a voice teacher and choir director for 15 years, both privately and in the university setting. Mandi is a current member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and has conducted choirs in multiple congregations and elementary schools.

 

Recently awarded a sizable Artist Career Empowerment Grant by the Salt Lake City Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, Ms. Barrus holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Utah. Mandi shares her love of music as a teacher of private voice lessons at Bella Voce Studio, weekly at St. Paul's Episcopal Church as the Mezzo-soprano Artist-in-Residence, and by presenting opera outreach programs in elementary schools throughout Utah with ARTS, Inc. Ms. Barrus is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Opera Contempo, a chamber opera company promoting new voices, commissioning new works, and producing new opera settings. She lives with her three children and her partner, composer David Campbell, in the Greater Salt Lake area.

​

​