Kathleen Battle

Kathleen Battle was born on August 13, 1948 in Portsmouth, Ohio, USA. She was the youngest of seven children in the African-American family, with a good tradition of singing spirituals. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Ohio (1971) and taught music to Cincinnati's inner-city youth, while continuing her vocal studies privately. In 1972 she was hired by then conductor or the Cincinnati Symphony, Thomas Schippers, to perform at the 1972 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Being blessed with the silky, silvery timbre of her lyric coloratura soprano, and the talent that has little limitations, she made performances and recordings in a variety of styles and genres, including classical sacred music, spirituals and traditional jazz. Battle performed leading parts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Gaetano Donizetti. She also worked with conductor James Levine, as well as wit