Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soprano Mary Burke Barber "reveals [her] powerfully rich voice of regal warmth and strength" (Patrick D. McCoy).  Her 2025/2026 season includes her debut with New Jersey Lyric Opera as Musetta in La Bohème, followed by a return to Sarasota Opera to cover Musetta in La Bohème, and perform Mrs. Hayes in Susannah.

The 2024/2025 season brought Mary to Florida Grand Opera as a Studio Artist. There, she made her debut in the roles of Die Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, where she was said to have “solo[ed] sweetly above the ensemble” (Robert Croan), and Mercédès in Carmen.  Mrs. Burke Barber returned to Sarasota Opera as a Studio Artist, covering the roles of Micaёla in Carmen, and Vespina in L’infedeltà delusa. She also performed as a finalist in the Opera Tampa D'angelo Young Artist Competition. 

The 2023/2024 season brought Mary to her first season with Sarasota Opera as an Apprentice Artist, singing in the choruses of Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, Ernani, and Thérèse. She was awarded the Sarasota Opera Guild's Ann J. O'Donnell Award for Outstanding Apprentice Artist. 

Mary began her musical studies at the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore, Maryland under the care of Phyllis Bryn-Julson. During her undergraduate studies, she completed a joint undergraduate degree with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore, under the direction of Alan Bennett.  She completed her master's degree at Peabody under the tutelage of Denyce Graves-Montgomery and Margaret Baroody.