Elizabeth Watts (born 1979) is an English operatic soprano.
Watts was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School for Girls. [1] She studied archaeology at Sheffield University and graduated with first class honours. Beginning in 2002, she studied music at the Royal College of Music with Lillian Watson. She graduated in 2005 with distinction and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl, awarded annually for outstanding achievement. From 2005 to 2007, she was a member of the Young Singers’ Programme at English National Opera. In the 10/11 season she was Pamina/Die Zauberflöte for Welsh National Opera and Marzelline/Fidelio for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
In 2006, Watts won the Kathleen Ferrier Award. She represented England at the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, reaching the final and winning the prestigious Rosenblatt Song Prize Competition. [2] She was chosen as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2007-2009. In 2011 she won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. [3]
Her earliest US appearances were in Boston with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston in 2006 [4] and with Cal Performances in San Francisco. [5] She made her debut at Santa Fe Opera in July 2008. [6] Recently Watts sang Mozart Requiem with the Boston Handel & Haydn Society and Harry Christophers which will be released on CD.
Watts’ other recordings include discs of Schubert Lieder and Bach Arias, both of which were chosen as Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice. She has also released recordings of Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes, Handel's Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral Society and Brahms Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In January 2011, Watts was appointed as an Artist in Residence at London's Southbank Centre for the 2011-12 season. [7]
In 2016 she premiered the role of The Countess in Elena Langer's opera Figaro Gets a Divorce , at the Welsh National Opera.
Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s, until her eventual dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. She later has focused on recording and the concert stage. After a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in November 2016.
Cecilia BartoliOMRI is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her performances of lesser-known music from the Baroque and Classical period. She is known for singing both soprano and mezzo roles.
Susanna Phillips (Huntington) is an American singer who has sung leading lyric soprano roles at leading American and international opera houses.
Sylvia McNair is an American opera singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and cabaret genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won two Grammy Awards.
Zanne Stapelberg is a South African musician.
Amanda Forsythe is an American light lyric soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini. Forsythe has received continued critical acclaim from many publications including Opera News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.
Sandrine Piau is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debussy, and Poulenc. In addition to an active career in concerts and operas, she is prolific in studio recordings, primarily with Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, and Alpha since 2018.
Llŷr Williams is a Welsh concert pianist.
Dame Sarah Patricia Connolly is an English mezzo-soprano. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire which has included works by Wagner as well as various 20th-century composers. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music.
Anja Harteros is a German soprano. Since winning the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition she has been particularly associated with the Bavarian State Opera and enjoyed an international career.
Arianna Zukerman is an American lyric soprano who has performed with some of the world's finest orchestras and opera companies. Her voice was described in The Washington Post as "remarkable" combining the "range, warmth and facility of a Rossini mezzo with shimmering, round high notes and exquisite pianissimos."
Andrew Kennedy is an English tenor. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland, England, was a chorister at Durham Cathedral, attended Uppingham School, and then was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. Further study at the Royal College of Music was followed by a place on the Vilar Young Artists programme at the Royal Opera House where he performed many solo principal roles.
Joyce DiDonato is an American lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. She is notable for her interpretations of operas and concert works in the 19th-century romantic era in addition to works by Handel and Mozart.
Shenyang is a Chinese bass-baritone singer. His repertoire encompasses operatic roles, chamber music and Lieder recitals.
Layla Claire is a Canadian soprano opera singer.
The Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) was established as a charitable trust in 2002 to help young musicians throughout the world. The Trust assists classical instrumentalists, ensembles and singers in their early 20s and 30s to further develop their international careers with awards that fund tailor-made projects. The first awards were made in 2003.
Jamie Barton is an American mezzo-soprano. She won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June 2013. She is also the winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award.
Lucy Mary Elizabeth Crowe is an English soprano in opera and concert. She has performed at international opera houses and music festivals such as the Glyndebourne Festival and Rheingau Musik Festival.
Louise Alder is a British lyric soprano. She won the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and the Young Singer award at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Her debut album of Strauss Lieder titled 'Through Life and Love' with pianist Joseph Middleton, was released in July 2017 with Orchid Classics.
The Kuss Quartet with Jana Kuss (violin), Oliver Wille (violin), William Coleman (viola) and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan (cello) is a Berlin-based string quartet. It was founded in 1991 at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" by the two violinists of the ensemble and has been playing in its current formation since 2008.