Barbara Hendricks is an American operatic soprano and concert singer born on November 20, 1948, in Stephens, Arkansas. She has been a resident of Europe since 1977 and has lived in Basel, Switzerland, since 1985. Hendricks holds Swedish citizenship following her marriage to a Swedish citizen.
Growing up, Hendricks was an avid singer, often performing solos and taking voice lessons. She graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry at the age of 20. Hendricks then attended the Aspen Music Festival and School before moving on to the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she studied with renowned mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and participated in master classes led by the legendary soprano Maria Callas. She earned a bachelor's degree in music from Juilliard.
In 1974, Hendricks made her professional operatic debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in Europe and the San Francisco Opera in America. Throughout her illustrious career, she has performed at major opera houses worldwide, including the Opéra National de Paris, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and La Scala. In 1998, she sang the iconic role of Liù in the historic performance of Turandot at the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Hendricks has appeared in numerous films, including La bohème, where she played the role of Mimì, and the Swedish film Rucklarens väg, an adaptation of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress, in which she portrayed Anne Truelove. In 2007, she appeared in the film Disengagement alongside Juliette Binoche and recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, which served as the main theme for the film.
In addition to her classical music pursuits, Hendricks is also a skilled jazz singer, making her jazz debut at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1994. Since then, she has performed at major jazz festivals around the world. Hendricks is also passionate about chamber music and has organized several chamber music festivals.
In 2004, she created the role of Angel in the world premiere of Péter Eötvös' opera Angels in America at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. In January 2006, Hendricks left EMI and established her own record label, Arte Verum, which she has since used exclusively for her recordings.
In 2018, Hendricks performed "La Marseillaise" with the Choir of the French Army at the interment ceremony of Simone Veil in the Panthéon.
