Helen Watts

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Helen Watts (born December 9, 1927 in Milford Haven , Pembrokeshire , Wales ; † October 7, 2009 ) was a Welsh opera singer and concert singer with the alto range .

Life

Helen Watts first studied piano , but then switched to singing . She completed her vocal studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London . After completing her training, she first became a member of the BBC radio choir , but soon made her first professional appearances as a soloist. Watts also had this in the beginning with radio . In 1953 she sang cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach on a radio broadcast of the BBC . Also in 1953 she took part in a radio broadcast of the opera Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck in the title role of Orpheus . Under the musical direction of Sir Malcolm Sargent , she made her debut at the London Proms in 1955 with concert arias by Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1963 Watts sang the alto solo at the Proms in a performance of the 3rd Symphony in D minor by Gustav Mahler .

In 1958 Watts made her debut as a stage singer. At the Handel Opera Society she sang Didymus in George Frideric Handel's oratorio Theodora . 1959 followed there appearances as Ino and Juno in the oratorio Semele . In 1961 she took on the title role in the opera Rinaldo . In 1965 Helen Watts became a member of the Covent Garden Opera in London. Sir Georg Solti also engaged Watts in the 1960s for his complete recording of Richard Wagner's stage tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung for the roles of Schwertleite in Die Walküre and as 1st Norn in Götterdämmerung . In the Wagner subject Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried was also one of her brilliant roles.

She has also appeared as an opera singer in operas by Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams . In 1984 she sang one of her last stage roles at the Opéra National de Lyon as landowner Larina in Eugen Onegin by Peter Tchaikovsky . In 1985 Watts retired from the stage.

Helen Watts was a valued concert singer around the world. She sang a wide-ranging concert repertoire, which mainly included works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but also works by Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schönberg . She appeared several times in the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius by Edward Elgar . As a lieder singer, she interpreted the song cycle Frauenliebe und -leben by Robert Schumann, among other things .

In 1978 she was appointed Commander of the British Empire , CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II .

Helen Watts' musical work, which has been handed down through numerous radio recordings, live recordings and records, has been partially re-released on CD in recent years.

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personal data
SURNAME Watts, Helen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Welsh opera and concert singer (alto)
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Milford Haven , Pembrokeshire , Wales
DATE OF DEATH October 7, 2009