Soprano Kathleen Battle returns to the Met for a special concert program on Sunday, May 12 at 5PM, her first appearance at the Met since her historic concert in 2016 highlighting music of the Underground Railroad. The new program features music by Purcell, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Fauré, Villa-Lobos, and Rodrigo, as well as selected spirituals. Joining Battle is acclaimed harpist Bridget Kibbey and two-time Grammy-nominated guitarist Chico Pinheiro.
Battle made her Met debut as the Shepherd in Wagner’s Tannhäuser in 1977 and went on to perform such signature roles as Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In 1985, Time Magazine declared she was “the best lyric coloratura soprano in the world.” The soprano’s many awards and accolades include a Laurence Olivier Award, five Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award. She was presented the Hall of Fame Award from the NAACP in 1999.
Thee acclaimed soprano enjoyed great success while she sang at the Met, but her relationship with the famed opera house became troubled when she walked off the stage during rehearsals in 1993 after a strong disagreement with conductor Christian Thielemann over tempo, and she canceled five scheduled performances as Sophie in Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.”
Joseph Volpe, then the Met’s general manager, announced in February 1994 that the company had terminated her contract for Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment),” saying the performer’s actions “were profoundly detrimental to the artistic collaboration among all the cast members.”
Years later, Volpe’s successor, Peter Gelb, invited Battle to give a November 2016 recital titled “Underground Railroad-A Spiritual Journey”.
When Battle performed at the Met in 2016, her first appearance on that stage after a 22-year hiatus, The New York Times wrote that “[Battle] sounded wonderful … she sent high phrases soaring and sang with ethereal elegance.”
This will be her first appearance at the Met since 2016. Ticket sales open to the general public on Friday, March 22. For further details and ticket information on Kathleen Battle in Recital at the Met, please click here.
Kathleen Battle in Recital at the Met is being produced by AMP Worldwide. The musical arrangements are by Robert Sadin.
