Janet Baker as Mary Stuart

The British mezzo-soprano Janet Baker (born August 21, 1933) is a well-known opera, concert, and lieder singer. She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten. During her career, which spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s, she was onsidered an outstanding singing actress and widely admired for her dramatic intensity, perhaps best represented in her famous portrayal as Dido, the tragic heroine of Berlioz's magnum opus Les Troyens. As a concert performer, Baker was noted for her interpretations of Mahler and Elgar. English opera singer Source: http://www. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ... Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) was a British composer, conductor and pianist. ... Portrait of Berlioz by Signol, 1832 Louis Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer best known for the Symphonie fantastique, first performed in 1830, and for his Grande Messe des morts (Requiem) of 1837, with its tremendous resources that include four antiphonal brass choirs. ... Les Troyens is a French opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. ... Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (July 7, 1860–May 18, 1911) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and conductor. ... Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 â€“ 23 February 1934) was an English composer, born in the small village of Lower Broadheath outside Worcester, Worcestershire, to William Elgar, a piano tuner and music dealer, and his wife Ann. ...

Baker was born in Hatfield, South Yorkshire. In 1956, she made her stage debut with the Oxford University Opera Club as Miss Róza in The Secret. That year, she also made her debut at Glyndebourne. In 1959, she sang Eduige in the Handel Opera Society's Rodelinda; other Handel roles included Ariodante (1964) and Orlando (1966), which she sang at the Barber Institute, Birmingham. The civil parish of Hatfield is an administrative area of the metropolitan borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England). ... South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England. ... Glyndebourne is a country house near Lewes in East Sussex, England. ... Rodelinda is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. ... Ariodante is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. ... Handel opera composed in 1733. ...

With the English Opera Group at Aldeburgh, Baker sang Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1962, Polly (Britten's version of The Beggar's Opera) and Lucretia. At Glyndebourne she appeared again as Dido (1966) and as Diana/Jupiter (Calisto) and Penelope (Il ritorno d'Ulisse). For Scottish Opera she sang Dorabella, Dido, Octavian, the Composer and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. The Aldeburgh Festival is an English festival, largely revolving around classical music. ... Henry Purcell (IPA: ; September 10 (?), 1659 (?)–November 21, 1695), a Baroque composer, is generally considered to be one of Englands greatest composers — indeed, he has often been called Englands finest native composer. ... Dido and Aeneas is an opera by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell, from a libretto by Nahum Tate. ... The Beggars Opera is a ballad opera, a satiric play using some of the conventions of opera, but without the recitative. ... Scottish Opera was founded in 1962 and is based in Glasgow. ... Christoph Willibald Gluck (July 2, 1714 – November 15, 1787) was a German composer. ... Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. ...

In 1966, Baker made her debut as Hermia at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and went on to sing Berlioz's Dido, Kate in Owen Wingrave, Mozart's Vitellia and Idamantes, Walton's Cressida and Gluck's Alceste (1981) there. For the English National Opera, she sang Poppaea, Donizetti's Mary Stuart, Charlotte (Werther) and the title role of Handel's Giulio Cesare. The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Covent Garden is a shopping and entertainment complex in central London. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790 portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most popular, significant and influential composers of European classical music. ... William Turner Walton (March 29, 1902–March 8, 1983) was a British composer influenced by the works of Stravinsky, Sibelius and the jazz genre. ... Alceste is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. ... The London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is one of two opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. ... Categories: People stubs | 1797 births | 1848 deaths | Opera composers | Romantic composers | Italian composers | People born in Bergamo, Italy ... Werther is an opera by Jules Massenet. ... George Frideric Handel (German Georg Friedrich Händel), (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was a German-born British Baroque music composer. ... Giulio Cesare is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. ...

In 1982 Baker retired from opera, after singing Mary Stuart at the ENO and Gluck's Orpheus at Glyndebourne. She published a memoir, Full Circle, in 1982. In 1991, Baker was elected Chancellor of the University of York; she held the post until 2004. Chancellor (Latin: cancellarius), an official title used by most of the peoples whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman empire. ... The University of York (also known as York University) is a campus university in York, England. ...

Baker was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1976 and a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1994. The honours system of the United Kingdom is a means of rewarding personal bravery, achievement or service to the country. ...