Kathleen Battle

Kathleen Battle, born in 1948, American soprano, known for the sweetness and purity of her tone and for her glamorous presence. Battle earned a reputation as a perfectionist who constantly challenged herself and her colleagues.

Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle began her career as a schoolteacher. She received her musical education at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1970 and a master's degree in 1971. Battle soon attracted the attention of American conductor Thomas Schippers of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1971 Schippers arranged for and conducted her professional debut, at the prestigious music festival of Spoleto, Italy, where she sang the “German Requiem” by German composer Johannes Brahms.

American conductor James Levine was another early champion in Battle's career. Levine, as music director, brought Battle to the Ravinia Festival outside Chicago, Illinois, and then to the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City. In 1977 she joined the company and debuted in the small role of the Shepherd Boy in the opera Tannhäuser, by German composer Richard Wagner. Soon she was enlisted to perform challenging operatic roles by the great German composers. Battle excelled in roles such as Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Zdenka in Arabella, by Richard Strauss; Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier (The Cavalier of the Rose); and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar), by George Frideric Handel.

Battle also appeared with enormous success at the San Francisco Opera, the Salzburg Festival in Austria, and the Royal Opera in London, England. Her nonoperatic singing engagements include those in recording studios, in recitals, and as a soloist with symphony orchestras and on television, where she has collaborated with American jazz and classical trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. In 1994 Battle left the Metropolitan Opera after disagreements arose between her and other members of the company. She has continued to perform in concerts, recitals and on television.

Battle has won three Grammy Awards (1987, 1988, 1993). In 1995 she released the album So Many Stars, on which she sings popular songs accompanied by jazz musicians.