M y opera season got off to an exhilarating start on September 7, when Vertical Player Repertory, in collaboration with PortSide New York and the American Stevedoring Company, presented a site-specific Il Tabarro- staged in Red Hook, Brooklyn, on the Mary A. Whalen , a tanker built in 1938. The opera's setting was moved to the 1940s, and the show was directed with great period flavor and keen attention to detail by BETH GREENBERG. In the balmy late-summer air, with the sun setting in the harbor and the Whalen gently rocking back and forth, the audience was completely drawn into Puccini's melodrama. There were committed performances from Vertical Player Rep's artistic director JUDITH BARNES (Giorgetta) and from ZURAB NINUA (Michele) and CHRISTIAN ŠEBEK (Luigi). All in all, the evening was a welcome reminder that the city is full of rich musical offerings far from Fifty-seventh Street or the Lincoln Center campus- if only we take the trouble to seek them out.
Opera News, Brian Kellow, 2007 (Puccini's Il Tabarro)

“Call it garage opera. The Vertical Player Repertory performs in a small Brooklyn factory-turned-studio but has developed a following for its intense performances of unusual works.
Darius Milhaud's “Médée,” the last opera performed in Paris before the Nazi occupation, was so successful in November the company has brought it back for three more performances.”
The New York Times, Anne Midgette, 2006 ( Darius Milhaud's Médée )

”… a propulsive operatic tragedy of the first order…the starkness of the staging in the group's dilapidated but intimate space is perfect for an opera filled with such vengeful brutality. (Conductor) Peter Szep leads an impressive roster of 17 superbly rehearsed singers to give a tremendously affecting account of this difficult work.
And, in the title role, Judith Barnes uses her strong soprano voice to create a truly tragic anti-heroine. In her powerful monologue that takes up all of the second act, Barnes cuts right to the quick of what is the emotional center of the entire opera.
If Vertical Players Repertory (sic.) had simply brought "Médée" to the stage, that would have been good enough. But by giving such an intensely dramatic account of this forgotten but worthy 20th century opera, it deserves our eternal thanks.”
The Brooklyn Papers, Kevin Filipski, 2006 (Darius Milhaud's Médée )

“This is a very effective and moving evocation of Euripides' tragedy…starring the impressive Judith Barnes, founder of the Rep. The multi-ethnic cast are all able singers…”
New York Theatre Wire, Glenn Loney, 2006 (Darius Milhaud's Médée )

“And there are plenty of rewards for venturing outside the box. Take Sunday's “Tabarro”…sure, it's hard to judge voices in a space so tiny that any volume makes your ears ring. But it sure sounded like some serious singing.”
The New York Times, Anne Midgette, 2006 (Puccini's Il Tabarro )

“Opera on this scale can be done far better (check out the Vertical Player Repertory in Brooklyn).”
The New York Times, Anne Midgette, 2006

“Nestled in the inviting confines of the performance space, audience members experience the theatrical immediacy and subtlety that can only be hinted at in larger venues.”
Classical Singer, Julie Halpern, 2006 ( Puccini's Il Tabarro)

“Mozart does best in an intimate setting, and the former sculpture studio that houses the performances of Vertical Player Repertory is one of the most intimate spaces for opera in all New York. Ms. Barnes, a sculptor-turned-singer who founded the company in 1998, is also taking on the lead role of Elettra…” The New York Times, Anne Midgette, 2003 (Mozart's Idomeneo )

“A spotlight clicks on and lights a cardboard sun. The seven-member chorus bursts into song as a singer costumed as a waiter slices oranges on the piano. The soprano enters with the tenor hidden beneath her skirt. Judith Barnes is rehearsing an opera at the Vertical Player Repertory….In a former factory in Brooklyn…the high brick walls and tin ceiling have resonated with everything from Handel's ‘Alcina' to Mascagni's ‘Cavalleria Rusticana.' Vertical Player Repertory is attracting an ever larger audience.”
The New York Times, Anne Midgette, 2003 ( Yoav Gal's The Dwarf)

“Beautiful music, creative and moving performances, and above all, great ideas have become the norm at Vertical Player Repertory, the small opera company on Court Street that always has something new and different in the works.”
Brooklyn Heights Press and Cobble Hill News, Rose Deschenes, 2002 (Great Moments in Opera)

“…just splendid…It is hard to think of any group anywhere creating greater delight out of an 18 th century opera.”
Brooklyn Heights Press and Cobble Hill News, Henrik Krogius, 2001 (Handel's Alcina )

“And what a performance it was! The story…of betrayal…in a Sicilian village…was brought to life by the strong, confident and affecting voices…of the cast. Bravo to Vertical Player Repertory, the innovative opera company…founded by Judith Barnes in 1998…”
Brooklyn Heights Press, Trudy Whitman, 2002 (Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana )

“Friday's New York Times article about small opera companies, with a large photo of Judith Barnes in Lady Kaiser's notorious dress, explored both the merits and limitations of small-scale opera productions…Even without the ornamentation of typical opera performances, The Dwarf managed to convey an ironic--exaggerated but effective--commentary on the consequences of nonconformity.”
Brooklyn Heights Press and Cobble Hill News, Rose Deschenes, 2003 (Yoav Gal's The Dwarf )

“Opera is a whole new beast when you're sitting right up against it…the total effect is captivating…”
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Abby Ranger, 2003 ( Mozart's Idomeneo)