Battle, Kathleen (Deanna)

Battle, Kathleen (Deanna), outstanding black American soprano; b. Portsmouth, Ohio, Aug. 13, 1948. She studied with Franklin Bens at the Univ. of Cincinnati Coll.-Cons. of Music (B.Mus., 1970; M.Mus., 1971). After making her professional debut as a soloist in the Brahms Requiem at the Spoleto Festival in 1972, she pursued further taining with Italo Tajo in Cincinnati. In 1974 she captured first prize in the WGN-III. Opera Guild Auditions of the Air and in 1975 first prize in the Young Artists Awards in Washington, D.C. In 1975 she made her formal operatic debut as Rosina with the Mich. Opera Theatre in Detroit, and later that year her first appearance at the N.Y. City Opera as Mozart’s Susanna. On Dec. 22, 1977, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Shepherd in Tannhauser, and quickly established herself as one of its most esteemed artists via such roles as Massenet’s and Strauss’s Sophie, Despina, Blondchen, Zerlina, and Pamina. She also appeared with other major opera houses in the U.S. and Europe, and toured extensively as a soloist with leading orchs. and as a recitalist. On June 17, 1985, she made her Covent Garden debut in London as Zerbinetta. In 1987 she appeared as soloist at the New Year’s Day Concert of the Vienna Phil, conducted by Karajan, which was telecast throughout the world. Although Battle’s vocal gifts were undeniable, she acquired a reputation as an extremely temperamental artist. In Jan. 1993 she quit the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Der Rosenkavalier during rehearsal. During rehearsal for her starring role in its revival of La Fille du Régiment on Feb. 7, 1994, general manager Joseph Volpe found her behavior so objectionable that he summarily dismissed her from the Metropolitan Opera roster. She subsequently pursued an active concert career.