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Introduction
In opera, most adulation is given to the tenors and sopranos, for whom the most flamboyant roles are written. Janet Baker was one of the few mezzo-sopranos to inspire a similar adoring public. Yet she refused most international offers, having seen too many singers suffer personally and vocally from the pressures of international jet set opera stardom.
Born in 1933 in Yorkshire her career was almost an accident. She sang in the choir at York Minster but never considered a professional career. Then the bank where she worked transferred her to London and she started training seriously. Her early career was in Lieder and oratorio. It was Benjamin Britten who encouraged her to branch out into opera in roles like Dido in Berlioz's The Trojans.
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During the 1970s she was one of the great operatic divas. She sang at Covent Garden and with Glyndebourne, English National Opera and Scottish Opera. In the summer she gave recitals at the major British music festivals like York, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh and Kings Lynn.
Her passion was early opera, and audiences came to appreciate anew the works of Monteverdi, Gluck and particularly Handel. She loved acting and immersed herself in each character, concentrating on the way the words were expressed through the music. Her recordings of opera and song won her an admiring world-wide public.
Then in 1982, at the height of her powers, she retired from opera. Until 1989 she developed her career as a recitalist and also wrote the book ‘Full
Circle' about her career.
