Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano)

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Sarah Elizabeth Royle Walker

Walker was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She studied at the Royal College of Music from 1961 to 1965, initially as a violinist and cellist, and went on to study singing with Vera Rózsa. She has appeared in numerous opera performances and is also known as a concert soloist and recitalist.

Operatic career

Walker's operatic debut was in 1969, as Ottavia in Kent Opera's production of L'incoronazione di Poppea. She has also appeared in Britain with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, The Royal Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, and abroad at The Metropolitan Opera (New York City), Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, La Monnaie (Brussels) and the Vienna State Opera.

Notable roles have included the title-roles in Gloriana and Maria Stuarda, Dido in Les Troyens and Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress. She recorded the challenging Voices under the direction of its composer, Hans Werner Henze, in 1978.

In 1989, Walker, along with

She spectacularly performed Rule Britannia at The Last Night of the Proms in 1989.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f10I9n-G0Nc

Other activities

Her professional debut in recital was reportedly at the

Her recordings include song recitals of works by Fauré with the Nash Ensemble, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák songs, and French songs by Duparc, Enesco, Roussel and Debussy with Roger Vignoles; The Rake's Progress conducted by Riccardo Chailly, the Mozart Requiem conducted by George Guest, Tippett's The Mask of Time conducted by Andrew Davis, Vaughan Williams's Hugh the Drover conducted by Matthew Best and a CD of comic songs ranging from Gershwin to Schoenberg, recorded at the Wigmore Hall in 1988, entitled 'Blah Blah Blah and other trifles'. She appears as Cornelia in the ENO production of Handel's Julius Caesar conducted by Charles Mackerras and directed by John Copley.

Sources

• Who's Who in British Opera ed. Nicky Adam (Scolar Press, 1993)
  ISBN 0-85967-894-6

• Sarah Walker's website
• profile on Allmusic.com
• Masterclasses in London
• Video performances can be seen on
  YouTube
  .