Kathleen Battle promo photo. (Village Voice)
Soprano Kathleen Battle is set to return to the Metropolitan Opera stage after 20 years this fall.
Battle has performed in over 220 shows throughout her career and will sing negro spirituals in her recital titled, “Kathleen Battle: Underground Railroad – A Spiritual Journey” November 13 at 4 p.m. The set will include a collection of well-known traditional and gospel pieces, and it is inspired by enslaved people’s journey to freedom along the Underground Railroad – a network of safe houses – in the 19th century. Battle will be joined by pianist Joel Martin and a choir directed by James Davis Jr., director of Music Ministries and Fine Arts at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.
Battle, who made her Met debut in 1977 as the Shepherd in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” has performed the recital at various venues around the country. The opera singer says she is “thrilled” to bring it to New York City for the first time.
“Spirituals have the power to uplift and to heal, and we certainly need that in today’s world,” Battle said in a statement. “This is a program which brings together my musical background and my cultural heritage, in the acoustical splendor of the Met.”
Songs in the set will include “Lord, How Come Me Here?,” “Go Down, Moses,” “Wade in the Water,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Tickets are currently available to Met subscribers by phone and online. Prices range from $25 to $200 and single tickets go on sale June 26, according to Broadway World.
The New York Times reports the 67-year-old Battle was previously dismissed from the Met Opera in 1994 by Joseph Volpe, the company’s general manager at the time. He fired her from a production of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” because of her “unprofessional actions during rehearsals.”
Current general manager, Peter Gelb, urged Battle to return to the Met. After hearing her on stage – which was configured for a recital – in December, he told the NYT “she sounded fantastic, and she said she’d do it.”
