Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle is an American soprano, born August 13, 1948, in Portsmouth, Ohio, the youngest of seven children. Awarded a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, she majored in music education rather than performance. She earned a master's degree and embarked in 1971 on a teaching career in Cincinnati. While teaching 5th and 6th grade music, she studied voice privately. After an audition with Thomas Schippers (then conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Battle was hired, despite her lack of experience, to perform at the 1972 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy.
Her career in classical music and opera progressed in the 1980s, when her lyric coloratura voice found favor with two powerful conductors: Herbert von Karajan, based in Europe, and Battle's fellow Ohioan James Levine, music director at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Recordings and videos were made. On January 1, 1987, Karajan invited Battle to sing a waltz during Vienna's New Year's Day concert, the only time Karajan conducted the internationally televised annual event and the first time a singer had been engaged for such a contribution. Her 9-minute performance documented her vocal and communicative abilities at their keenest.
Battle portrayed opera ingenues and heroines such as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Adina in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore.'
Battle's repertoire also embraces sacred music, jazz, and spirituals. She is a five-time Grammy winner. She sang the title song, "Lovers," for the Chinese action movie, House of Flying Daggers. Battle is also the recipient of six honorary doctorates from American universities and, in 1999, was inducted into the NAACP Image Hall of Fame.
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