Lisa Lee Dark

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Lisa Lee Dark
Born (1981-04-16) 16 April 1981 (age 44)
Origin Swansea, Wales
Genres Opera, classical crossover, Christian, new-age, dance
Occupation(s)Opera singer, songwriter, voice actress
InstrumentVocals
Years active1992–present
LabelsAngel Guardian Records, VIP international Records
Website Blog

Lisa Lee Dark is a Welsh opera singer, songwriter, and voice actress.

Contents

Early life

Lisa Lee Dark was born in the Clydach area of Swansea on 16 April 1981. [1] Her distant relatives include Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. [2] She was born with the rare medical condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which leads to excessive generation of testosterone during the early part of foetal life. [3] This meant that she was raised as male because doctors failed to realise that she was biologically female, a fact even she did not discover until she was 19 years old. [4] [5] She was very badly bullied during her school years. [5] [6] She went to an all-boys comprehensive school where she would regularly get kicked, punched, spat at, and have obscene things screamed at her; even outside school, she would get the same treatment because she was slightly different and did not behave like all the other boys. [3] [7] This left her with agoraphobia and PTSD. [7]

Music career

At age 12 she was discovered while singing in a park in Swansea. [8] In 2000 she released a compilation CD of ten years of her recordings she called The Unknown Story of Lisa-Lee Dark. [8] In 2004, Dark released an album entitled Breath of Life. [4] As of 2009 it had sold 50,000 copies. [9] She has released several more since, [3] including one in French. [9] She had previously worked on films, backing tracks and voiceovers. [2]

Dark claims an 8–9 octave vocal range. [2] [3]

References

  1. Williams, Maria (11 July 1999). "Why I'll be twice as good as the average pop star". Wales on Sunday.
  2. 1 2 3 Gledhill, Ruth (20 November 2004). "Highs and lows". The Times. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Mark (25 March 2018). "I want people to see me as a human being first and foremost". Wales on Sunday. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 Davies, Daniel (13 September 2004). "Lisa-Lee album launch". The Western Mail. walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  5. 1 2 "BBC Radio 4 – Changing Sex" . Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  6. Collins, Claire (8 May 2000). "Showbiz loves the girl who was a guy". The Mirror. p. 18. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  7. 1 2 Smith, Mark (24 March 2018). "The woman who didn't realise she was female until she was 19". Wales Online. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  8. 1 2 Doyle, Christine (25 April 2000). "Lisa-Lee's refuge in music". The Daily Telegraph.
  9. 1 2 "Opera star wants to give back to charities". South Wales Evening Post. p. 16. Retrieved 29 September 2009.