This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/arts/music/youre-unfired-kathleen-battle-is-returning-to-the-met-after-22-years.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
You’re Unfired: Kathleen Battle Is Returning to the Met After 22 Years You’re Unfired: Kathleen Battle Is Returning to the Met After 22 Years
(about 20 hours later)
It may be the biggest unfiring in opera since Maria Callas’s New York comeback: Kathleen Battle, a prima donna whose dismissal by the Metropolitan Opera more than two decades ago made front-page news, will return to the Met next season to sing a recital of spirituals.It may be the biggest unfiring in opera since Maria Callas’s New York comeback: Kathleen Battle, a prima donna whose dismissal by the Metropolitan Opera more than two decades ago made front-page news, will return to the Met next season to sing a recital of spirituals.
The concert, scheduled for Nov. 13, will provide a burst of old-school star power at a time when the Met has been struggling with declining attendance. Arrangements for her appearance came after Ms. Battle, 67, was courted by Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager. “I think great artists should be on the stage of the Met,” Mr. Gelb said in an interview. “There aren’t enough of them.”The concert, scheduled for Nov. 13, will provide a burst of old-school star power at a time when the Met has been struggling with declining attendance. Arrangements for her appearance came after Ms. Battle, 67, was courted by Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager. “I think great artists should be on the stage of the Met,” Mr. Gelb said in an interview. “There aren’t enough of them.”
Ms. Battle was a Grammy-winning soprano who had appeared with the Met 224 times in 1994, when Joseph Volpe, then general manager, fired her from a production of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” a week before opening night, citing, with a bluntness unusual in classical music, her “unprofessional actions during rehearsals.” Stories quickly circulated about what was described as divalike behavior and rudeness toward colleagues, including demands that other singers leave rehearsals when she was singing and not look at her mouth during duets. Ms. Battle was a Grammy-winning soprano who had appeared with the Met 224 times by 1994, when Joseph Volpe, then general manager, fired her from a production of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment” a week before opening night, citing, with a bluntness unusual in classical music, her “unprofessional actions during rehearsals.” Stories quickly circulated about what was described as divalike behavior and rudeness toward colleagues, including demands that other singers leave rehearsals when she was singing and not look at her mouth during duets.
Ms. Battle was said to arrive late to rehearsals, leave early or not to show up at all. Nor was “Fille” the first case of her being temperamental: The year before, she withdrew from a Met production of Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier” after clashing with the conductor. A few months before that, in a season-opening appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she was said to have changed hotels several times and banned an assistant conductor from her rehearsals.Ms. Battle was said to arrive late to rehearsals, leave early or not to show up at all. Nor was “Fille” the first case of her being temperamental: The year before, she withdrew from a Met production of Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier” after clashing with the conductor. A few months before that, in a season-opening appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she was said to have changed hotels several times and banned an assistant conductor from her rehearsals.
“I was not told by anyone at the Met about any unprofessional actions,” she said in a statement after being fired, adding, “All I can say is I am saddened by this decision.”“I was not told by anyone at the Met about any unprofessional actions,” she said in a statement after being fired, adding, “All I can say is I am saddened by this decision.”
Her dismissal — and return — calls to mind past tempestuous clashes between opera divas and impresarios. Callas, one of the great sopranos of the 20th century, was fired by the Met in 1958 after a dispute over which roles she would agree to sing. She, too, was rehired, in 1965, and returned to give two final Met performances of “Tosca” that are now considered legendary. (“Kathy Battle,” Mr. Volpe later recalled telling her manager when he terminated her contract, “is no Callas.”)Her dismissal — and return — calls to mind past tempestuous clashes between opera divas and impresarios. Callas, one of the great sopranos of the 20th century, was fired by the Met in 1958 after a dispute over which roles she would agree to sing. She, too, was rehired, in 1965, and returned to give two final Met performances of “Tosca” that are now considered legendary. (“Kathy Battle,” Mr. Volpe later recalled telling her manager when he terminated her contract, “is no Callas.”)
She will give a recital called “Kathleen Battle: Underground Railroad — A Spiritual Journey,” accompanied by Joel Martin on the piano and by a choir led by James Davis Jr., the director of Music Ministries and Fine Arts at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Ms. Battle, who has performed versions of the program in Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore, said that she was excited to bring it to the Met.She will give a recital called “Kathleen Battle: Underground Railroad — A Spiritual Journey,” accompanied by Joel Martin on the piano and by a choir led by James Davis Jr., the director of Music Ministries and Fine Arts at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Ms. Battle, who has performed versions of the program in Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore, said that she was excited to bring it to the Met.
“Spirituals have the power to uplift and to heal, and we certainly need that in today’s world,” she 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.”“Spirituals have the power to uplift and to heal, and we certainly need that in today’s world,” she 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.”
Mr. Gelb said that he had long been trying to get Ms. Battle, who turned away from staged opera after her firing and has since largely pursued a recital career, to return to the opera house. “When I first was appointed, I tried to persuade her to come back to the Met to sing a role in a Mozart opera,” he said. “But she couldn’t get her head around that.”Mr. Gelb said that he had long been trying to get Ms. Battle, who turned away from staged opera after her firing and has since largely pursued a recital career, to return to the opera house. “When I first was appointed, I tried to persuade her to come back to the Met to sing a role in a Mozart opera,” he said. “But she couldn’t get her head around that.”
Then he thought about having her bring her “Underground Railroad” program, and in December Mr. Gelb and Ms. Battle visited the stage together, configured for a recital with the orchestra pit raised and acoustical screens put up, to see if she would be comfortable. “She sounded fantastic, and she said she’d do it,” he said.Then he thought about having her bring her “Underground Railroad” program, and in December Mr. Gelb and Ms. Battle visited the stage together, configured for a recital with the orchestra pit raised and acoustical screens put up, to see if she would be comfortable. “She sounded fantastic, and she said she’d do it,” he said.
Ms. Battle was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1948, the daughter of a steelworker father and mother who volunteered at the family’s African Methodist Episcopal Church. An elementary school music teacher in Cincinnati before becoming a solo singer, she was championed by James Levine, who conducted many of her Met performances, including her company debut in 1977 as the Shepherd in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser.”Ms. Battle was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1948, the daughter of a steelworker father and mother who volunteered at the family’s African Methodist Episcopal Church. An elementary school music teacher in Cincinnati before becoming a solo singer, she was championed by James Levine, who conducted many of her Met performances, including her company debut in 1977 as the Shepherd in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser.”
On Feb. 23, 1985, Handel’s 300th birthday, she appeared to great acclaim in a concert performance of his “Semele” at Carnegie Hall. (“It had to be,” Donal Henahan wrote in The New York Times, “the performance of her young and still-blossoming career.”) A smiling natural in Mozart and Strauss’s ingénue roles, her fresh and pure (if slender) tone and seemingly effortless agility translated beautifully to recording, and she eventually became one of Deutsche Grammophon’s biggest stars. But a reputation for causing backstage strife began to dog her: Colleagues at the San Francisco Opera were seen wearing T-shirts reading “I Survived the Battle” after one of her appearances.On Feb. 23, 1985, Handel’s 300th birthday, she appeared to great acclaim in a concert performance of his “Semele” at Carnegie Hall. (“It had to be,” Donal Henahan wrote in The New York Times, “the performance of her young and still-blossoming career.”) A smiling natural in Mozart and Strauss’s ingénue roles, her fresh and pure (if slender) tone and seemingly effortless agility translated beautifully to recording, and she eventually became one of Deutsche Grammophon’s biggest stars. But a reputation for causing backstage strife began to dog her: Colleagues at the San Francisco Opera were seen wearing T-shirts reading “I Survived the Battle” after one of her appearances.
Mr. Volpe, who recounted the episode of her firing in his memoir in a chapter called “Battle Hymn,” said in a telephone interview that he was pleased to hear of her pending return. “I’m delighted to see that she will be giving a recital at the Met,” he said, “and I send her my best wishes.”Mr. Volpe, who recounted the episode of her firing in his memoir in a chapter called “Battle Hymn,” said in a telephone interview that he was pleased to hear of her pending return. “I’m delighted to see that she will be giving a recital at the Met,” he said, “and I send her my best wishes.”