Mezzo/contralto Rachel Barg, praised for her “wondrous depth of sound” (Opera News), returned to Opera Baltimore in 2025 as Mrs. Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring. Previously in 2024, she sang Madame Larina and covered Olga in Eugene Onegin with Opera Baltimore. Rachel also returned to Opera Maine to cover Amneris in Aida in July 2024.

She started the 2023-2024 season as Giovanna, and covered Maddalena, in a co-production of Rigoletto with Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore.. She participated in Castleton Festival's Vocal Immersion Program under the guidance of tenor Paul Groves and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung.

Rachel was a 2023 Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theater of Saint Louis, where she sang Mrs. Ott in Susannah. She returned to Opera Maine in 2023 as Tisbe in La Cenerentola, having previously covered Mary in Der fliegende Holländer. In 2022 she was an Emerging Artist at the Opera for Peace Academy. 

A frequent participant at international competitions, Rachel advanced to the final rounds of the 42nd Hans Gabor International Belvedere Singing Competition, was awarded a role preparation grant by the Olga Forrai Foundation, and was a finalist in the Music International Grand Prix competition. Rachel was a semifinalist in the MI Opera, Zenith Opera, and Alfredo Kraus competitions in 2025. She was a winner and encouragement award recipient in the Nebraska and St. Louis districts of the Laffont Competition in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

In 2019, Rachel performed the role of Olga in concert performances of Eugene Onegin with the Eurasia Festival. She debuted the role of Arinyae in the world premiere of Theodore Christman’s A Metamorphosis in 2018. Rachel performed Dame Quickly in Falstaff with Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance. 

She recently finished her artist diploma at William Jewell College, where she sang Charlotte in Werther, Grandma in The House Without a Christmas Tree, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and the title role in Elizabeth Cree. While pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Michigan, Rachel performed the roles of Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Martin Katz, and Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the baton of Kathleen Kelly. Other favorite roles performed are the Older Woman in Flight, Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, and Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte.

Rachel currently resides in Berlin with her dog, Lady Bird.