Dear Editor: I was gifted $20,000 to make a classical dramatic soprano arias CD with the Prague Radio Orchestra. [Joanne Corbett-]Barnes stated she had started negotiations with the orchestra and the conductor, Maestro Kerry Stratton of the Toronto Philharmonic. Please note that Maestro Stratton was also with Corbett Arts [now Arts Management Services] and has since left the roster. It takes forever to get your name off the roster; she wants it to look like a busy successful agency.
Barnes requested that I send the money to her so she could send it to Prague. I had been told when I signed with her that she was licensed and bonded—she was not. The money was sent to the agency and never made it to Prague. To this day, I have not seen or heard from her about the money. I have an attorney, but Barnes, with other arrest warrants pending, seems to dodge being arrested.
I will never be gifted with this type of money again. Needless to say, the benefactor has a very bad taste in his mouth for agents at this time. Anyone wanting to do business or sign with this woman is wasting their time. Any work that was secured, I obtained. I have later found out that several interested presenters in my show and solo performances were so put off by her yelling and bad attitude on the phone that they terminated any interest in me. I have been building bridges and cleaning up her verbal messes.
—Madelene Capelle, via E-mail
www.undonedivas.com
Dear Editor: I am a former booking agent with Corbett Arts Management. I worked for Joanne [Corbett-Barnes] from February 1999 through December 2004. This makes me the only one, other than Joanne herself, to be involved with the business for such a long period of time.
Corbett Arts Management has been going through very serious financial problems at least as far back as 2002. The economy was partly to blame, but it became apparent to me that Joanne’s bad business decisions and irresponsible, unethical business behavior was in reality the culprit. The last time I received a paycheck on time was May 2004. After that, I went weeks, sometimes months without being paid. The last time I have ever been paid by Joanne was October [2005].
Looking back, I realize I should have left sooner, but I knew if I left, paying me would be the last of Joanne’s concerns. Just before I flew back east for the Christmas holidays [in 2005], I was promised a paycheck by Joanne. That never happened. Just before I left, [she] promised that she would transfer the money directly to my checking account. That never happened.
When I arrived back in San Francisco in early January, I was shocked to discover a $147 car rental bill on my credit card statement. Back in November, Joanne asked me for a favor. Since she has bad credit and only has access to her bank debit card, she wanted me to lend her my credit card for a car rental. She needed to hear a singer in Sacramento and promised that the bill would be paid immediately upon the car’s return. I agreed, thinking it would only be for one day. What I discovered in early January was that she kept the car for a whole week and never told me. She returned the car and never paid for it. I verified this by calling National Car Rental. They were able to pull up the rental agreement and all records associated with it. There was never a payment made.
At this time, Joanne owes me over $2,000 in unpaid wages, plus the $147 car rental fee. I am pursuing this with the Department of Labor Relations and have filed a claim against her. At least two other employees have gone down this route before me—April Enoe and Chris Morano.
Joanne has changed the name of her business to Arts Management Services for one reason only: she has had troubles with the Franchise Tax Board and is no longer able to do business under the name Corbett Arts Management. This is all a matter of public record and can be seen by anyone contacting the IRS. The reasons she gives for the name change are all fiction, a series of deceits that the artists whose hard-earned money goes to her for management services must endure at [their] own peril.
—David Dieni, via E-mail
[Editors note: In the interest of fairness, we invite singers who have had experience with Ms. Barnes to share their experiences with Classical Singer, particularly those who have had positive experiences.]
Errata
In the May Issue, we attributed the Curtain Call to Julian Court. Mary Beth Eversole actually contributed the story.
In the article “Cabelissima” in the May Issue, we referred to Nicole Cabell as the first American ever to win the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Nicole Cabell is the first female American to win the competition. David Malis, the first American winner, won in 1985.
