Kathleen Battle

Probably one of the most famous African-American sopranos, Kathleen Fight received her vocal teaching in the Cincinnati University Conservatory, where she studied tone of voice with Franklin Bens and in addition caused Italo Tajo. While at Cincinnati she found the eye of conductor Thomas Schippers who brought her towards the Spoleto Event in SC to sing the Brahms Requiem in 1972. She produced her stage debut in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia as Rosina using the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit in 1975. Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro was her NEW YORK Opera debut function in 1976. During this time period, she also sang orchestral concerts in NY, LA, and Cleveland. Adam Levine brought her towards the Metropolitan Opera in NY because the Shepherd in Wagner’s Tannhäconsumer in 1978, and she made an appearance frequently on the Met in essential assignments until 1994. She initial appeared in European countries in 1978 on the Italian Spoleto Celebration, and in 1979 debuted on the Glyndebourne Celebration. Her initial appearance at Salzburg is at 1982 at an all-Mozart concert, and she frequently came back in concert, recital and opera. Her essential opera assignments at Salzburg had been Susanna, Zerlina, and Despina, three Mozart assignments with which she’s been linked at many opera homes all over the world. She has made an appearance at most from the main opera homes of the globe including SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Chicago, Covent Backyard, London, Geneva, Vienna, and Berlin. In 1985, she was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican, inside a efficiency carried out by Herbert von Karajan. She sang Handel’s Semele in an extremely acclaimed efficiency in 1985 at Carnegie Hall and later on recorded the part. In 1990 she was became a member of by Jessye Norman to get a concert of spirituals that was carried out by Wayne Levine at Carnegie Hall. Although most widely known for tasks within the operas of Mozart and Strauss (Zdenka, Sophie and Zerbinetta), Fight has also got great achievement in Massenet’s Werther, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Don Pasquale, and La fille du regiment, Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and Falstaff and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and L’Italiana in Algeri. Fight has maintained a dynamic recital profession, and her Schubert interpretations have become good. Her recital applications have also presented tracks by Mozart, Strauss, Fauré and Rodrigo. Kathleen Battle’s tone of voice is a higher, very genuine soprano with great appeal. She has superb technical control, which includes allowed her to sing the challenging coloratura tasks of Rosina and Zerbinetta though her strategy is always even more lyric that that of all coloratura sopranos. She actually is an excellent celebrity and tries to provide complete characterization to each of her tasks. Many of her greatest tasks had been televised live through the Metropolitan Opera, NY and later on released on video. A perfectionist in her very own work, Fight became increasingly more difficult to cope with as her profession moved forwards. Some sensed that her needs were getting unreasonable, and her behavior became erratic. These complications came to open public interest when she was dismissed in the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 for “unprofessional carry out.” Fight has continued to surface in concert and recital and continues to be a popular of the general public.