Claudia Barainsky studied at the Berlin University of the Arts with Ingrid Figur, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Aribert Reimann. After her debut at the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden in 1994 with the title role in Aribert Reimann's Melusine, a worldwide career followed. She has made guest appearances at opera houses in Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Tokyo and the Vienna State Opera, as well as at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Lincoln Center Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Heidelberger Frühling and the Ruhrtriennale, among others.

Claudia Barainsky is considered one of the most versatile singers in her field; her wide-ranging repertoire includes works from all eras. She was awarded the German Theater Prize “Der Faust” in 2011 for her interpretation of the title role in Aribert Reimann's Medea at the Frankfurt Opera.

Claudia Barainsky regularly performs on international concert stages. She also enjoys giving workshops and master classes on “Das Lied” and “Das Lied in der Neuen Musik” (e.g. Niedersächsische Musiktage, Hochschule für Musik und Theater München)