Dame Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano and alto)

~ Person

Annotation

Renowned opera singer knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to music.

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Famous for singing roles origionally done by Castrati. Castrati were male singers who were castrated before puberty so that their voices wouldn't change. The Castrati sound combined the purity of a boy's voice, with the lung power and control of a full-grown male voice. Because this practice has been outlawed, today only women can sing in the range of a castrato role. Baker specialized in this type of role and became very famous for it.

info taken from http://www.imdb.com

Annotation last modified on 2005-04-24 00:58 UTC.

Discography

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Album

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1960A Midsummer Night’s DreamMendelssohn; Heather Harper, Janet Baker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer5
1961Dido and Aeneas (1961 recording)Purcell; Baker, Clark, Sinclair, Herincx, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis4
1965Cello Concerto / Sea PicturesElgar; Jacqueline du Pré, Sir John Barbirolli, Dame Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra414
1966Des Knaben WunderhornGustav Mahler; Janet Baker, Geraint Evans, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wyn Morris4
1967Kindertotenlieder / Lieder eines fahrenden GesellenGustav Mahler; Janet Baker, Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli1
1970Bach: Magnificat D-Dur, BWV 243 / Bruckner: Te DeumBach, Bruckner; Lucia Popp, Anne Pashley, Birgit Finnilä, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Don Garrard, Thomas Hemsley, New Philharmonia Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim2
1975Tippett: A Child of Our TimeMichael Tippett, Jessye Norman, Janet Baker, Richard Cassilly, John Shirley‐Quirk, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis1
1975Das Lied von der ErdeMahler; Janet Baker, James King, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, Bernard Haitink7
1976I Capuleti e i MontecchiVincenzo Bellini; Janet Baker, Beverly Sills, Robert Lloyd, Nicolai Gedda, Raimund Herincx, New Philharmonia Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Giuseppe Patanè2
1977L’Enfance du ChristBerlioz; Janet Baker, Eric Tappy, Thomas Allen, Jules Bastin, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis2
1977RequiemVerdi; Georg Solti, Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Margaret Hillis, Chicago Symphony Orchestra4
1978Béatrice et BénédictBerlioz; Baker, Eda‐Pierre, Watts, Tear, Allen, Lloyd, Bastin, John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis1
1980Cléopâtre / HerminieBerlioz; Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis1
1980Matthäus-Passion (1979 recording)Johann Sebastian Bach; Edith Mathis, Janet Baker, Peter Schreier, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau, Matti Salminen, Münchener Bach‐Chor, Münchener Bach‐Orchester, Karl Richter3
1981Songs for SundayJanet Baker, Philip Ledger1
1983Mahler’s Songs of YouthMahler; Dame Janet Baker, Geoffrey Parsons3
1983Savitri / Choral Hymns From The Rig Veda (3rd Group)Holst, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Thomas Hemsley, English Chamber Orchestra, Purcell Singers, Imogen Holst1
1985Exsultate, jubilate / Ch'io mi scordi di te? / Le Nozze di Figaro / La Clemenza di TitoW. A. Mozart; Janet Baker, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard2
1987The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Volume 1: Goethe & Schiller SettingsFranz Schubert; Dame Janet Baker, Graham Johnson1
1987Kindertotenlieder / 5 Rückertlieder / Lieder eines fahrenden GesellenMahler; Janet Baker, Sir John Barbirolli2
1987La clemenza di TitoMozart; Janet Baker, Yvonne Minton, Frederica von Stade, Lucia Popp, Stuart Burrows, Robert Lloyd, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis2
1987Symphony no. 2 “Resurrection”Mahler; Arleen Augér, Janet Baker, CBSO Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle44
1988Julius Caesar (1984 studio cast)Handel; Dame Janet Baker, Valerie Masterson, John Tomlinson, English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Charles Mackerras2
1988Les Nuits d'été / La Mort de Cléopâtre / Les Troyens: Mort de DidonHector Berlioz; Janet Baker1
1988Symphony no. 3 / Rückert-LiederGustav Mahler; Dame Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas2
1988Symphony no. 2, "Resurrection"Gustav Mahler; Sheila Armstrong, Janet Baker, Edinburgh Festival Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein1
1989La Chanson d'Eve and Other SongsGabriel Fauré; Dame Janet Baker, Geoffrey Parsons1
1989Le MessieHaendel; Elizabeth Harwood, Janet Baker, Paul Esswood, Raimund Herincx, Ambrosian Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras1
1990Janet Baker sings Handel: Largo: Ombra mai fù / Cantata « Lucrezia »Handel; Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard1
1990Mass in B minorJ.S. Bach; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Agnes Giebel, Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Hermann Prey, Franz Crass, BBC Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra3
1992Orfeo ed EuridiceGluck; Janet Baker, Elisabeth Speiser, Elizabeth Gale, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard2
1992Arie AmoroseJanet Baker, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner1
1992British Composers: A Mass of Life / Songs of Sunset / An ArabesqueDelius; Heather Harper, Helen Watts, Robert Tear, Benjamin Luxon, Dame Janet Baker, John Shirley‐Quirk, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, London Philharmonic Choir, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Groves1
1993St. Matthew Passion: HighlightsBach; Edith Mathis, Janet Baker, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau, Matti Salminen, Karl Richter4
1995Orff: Catulli Carmina / Egk: La Tentation de Saint AntoineOrff, Egk; Arleen Augér, Wiesław Ochman, Janet Baker, Eugen Jochum, Werner Egk1
1995Das klagende LiedMahler; Teresa Cahill, Dame Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Gwynne Howell, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky1
1996Orchestral SongsMahler; Jessye Norman, Janet Baker, James King, Hermann Prey, John Shirley‐Quirk, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink1
1996Weihnachts-OratoriumJohann Sebastian Bach; Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Philip Ledger, Elly Ameling, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, King’s College Choir, Cambridge1
1996Debussy: La Mer / Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer / Ravel: ScheherazadeDebussy, Chausson, Ravel; Dame Janet Baker, Dame Margaret Price, London Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Svetlanov, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent1
1996LiederSchubert; Janet Baker, Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons3
1997From the Diary of Virginia WoolfDame Janet Baker / Martin Isepp1
1997Fauré: Requiem / Pavane / Duruflé: RequiemFauré, Duruflé; Robert Chilcott, Dame Janet Baker, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, John Butt, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir David Willcocks, Philip Ledger3
1998Symphony no. 9: Das Lied von der ErdeGustav Mahler; Janet Baker, James King, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink1
1999Mary StuartGaetano Donizetti, Sir Charles Mackerras; English National Opera Orchestra, Dame Janet Baker, Rosalind Plowright, David Rendall, Alan Opie, John Tomlinson1
1999Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzes / Tchaikovsky / Rossini: Songs & DuetsBrahms, Tchaikovsky, Rossini; Heather Harper, Janet Baker, Peter Pears, Thomas Hemsley, Claudio Arrau, Benjamin Britten1
1999ElijahMendelssohn; Gwyneth Jones, Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Chorus, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos2
1999The Dream of GerontiusElgar; Richard Lewis, Dame Janet Baker, Kim Borg, Hallé Choir & Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Ambrosian Singers, Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli1
2000Haydn: Arianna a Naxos / Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben / Schubert / Wolf / R. StraussHaydn, Schumann, Schubert, Wolf, Strauss; Janet Baker1
2001Mass in B minorBach; Jenny Hill, Janet Baker, Peter Pears, John Shirley‐Quirk, New Philharmonia Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini1
2001Solo Cantatas / Vocal WorksJohann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel; Janet Baker, Sir Neville Marriner, Yehudi Menuhin2
2001Mary Stuart (Highlights)Donizetti; Charles Mackerras, English National Opera Orchestra, Dame Janet Baker1
2002Duette · Terzette · QuartetteFranz Schubert; Elly Ameling, Janet Baker, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau, Horst R. Laubenthal, Peter Schreier, Gerald Moore1
2003Philips And Decca Recordings 1961-1979Dame Janet Baker1
2003The Dream of GerontiusElgar; Dame Janet Baker, John Mitchinson, John Shirley‐Quirk, CBSO Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle1
2004Opera AriasGluck; Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard1
2005St Matthew Passion: Arias, Recitatives and ChorusesJ. S. Bach; Ameling, Baker1
2006Serenades Nos. 1 & 2, Haydn Variations, Academic Festival Overture, Tragic Overture, Alto RhapsodyJohannes Brahms, Joseph Haydn, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Dame Janet Baker, The John Alldis Choir & John Alldis1
2007LiederBrahms; Dame Janet Baker, Ernest Lush1
2007Symphony no. 10 Adagio / KindertotenliederMahler; Leonard Bernstein, Janet Baker, Israel Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic1
2008Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / Brahms: Alto RhapsodyMahler, Brahms; Janet Baker, John Mitchinson, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, Sir Adrian Boult1
2010Aretusa / Lauda per la Natività del Signore / Il tramonto / Trittico BotticellianoRespighi;Dame Janet Baker, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox1
2014Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda / Savitri / Seven Partsongs / The Evening WatchHolst; Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Thomas Hemsley, The Purcell Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Imogen Holst1
2019Hippolyte et AricieRameau; Robert Tear, Angela Hickey, Janet Baker, John Shirley‐Quirk, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis1
2019La CalistoFrancesco Cavalli, Ileana Cotrubaș, Dame Janet Baker, James Bowman, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard1
2021Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6, 9 & LiederMahler; Sir John Barbirolli, Dame Janet Baker, Hallé Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker2
—Janet Baker Sings Schumann, Schubert and BrahmsSchumann, Schubert, Brahms; Janet Baker, Martin Isepp1
—La Damnation de Faust / La Mort de CléopâtreBerlioz; Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Gabriel Bacquier, Chœurs de l’Opéra de Paris, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Georges Prêtre, Alexander Gibson1
—Owen WingraveBritten; Benjamin Luxon, John Shirley‐Quirk, Nigel Douglas, Sylvia Fisher, Jennifer Vyvyan, Janet Baker, Peter Pears, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten11
—RequiemVerdi; Georg Solti, Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Margaret Hillis0
—The Dream of GerontiusHallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, Dame Janet Baker, Richard Lewis & Edward Elgar1

Album + Compilation

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1973Four SymphoniesBrahms; Janet Baker, Sir Adrian Boult, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra2
1980The 100 Greatest Recordings Of All Time 81/82 : Music of FaithDame Janet Baker, Raimund Herincx, Ambrosian Singers, Charles Mackerras, Elizabeth Harwood, John McCarthy, Robert Tear, English Chamber Orchestra, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra & Christa Ludwig1
1981Dame Janet Baker Sings Popular Schubert SongsSchubert; Dame Janet Baker, Geoffrey Parsons1
1986Requiem / Quattro pezzi sacriVerdi; Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Gedda, Ghiaurov, Baker, Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Giulini4
1988Choral Symphony / A Choral FantasiaHolst; Felicity Palmer, London Philharmonic Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Dame Janet Baker, Ian Partridge, The Purcell Singers, Ralph Downes, English Chamber Orchestra, Imogen Holst1
1989The Dream of Gerontius / Sea PicturesElgar; Hallé Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Choir, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, The Ambrosian Singers, Dame Janet Baker, Richard Lewis, Kim Borg, Sir John Barbirolli1
1991Symphony no. 1 “Titan” / Symphony no. 2 “Resurrection”Mahler; Janet Baker, Sheila Armstrong, Edinburgh Festival Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein1
1992Best-Loved Classics 15Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Jacques Offenbach; Dame Janet Baker, Rudolf Kempe2
1992Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream / Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1Mendelssohn, Liszt; Heather Harper, Janet Baker, Annie Fischer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus, Otto Klemperer1
1994Dame Janet Baker Sings Fauré • Schubert & Strauss • English SongDame Janet Baker1
1995Serenades 1 & 2 / Haydn VariationsBrahms; Janet Baker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult3
1998Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été / Mendelssohn: Psalm 42 - Infelice / Brahms: Alto Rhapsody / Respighi: La SensitivaBerlioz, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Respighi; Dame Janet Baker, London Symphony Chorus, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox1
1998Janet BakerDame Janet Baker1
1998Janet BakerJanet Baker, Handel, Schubert, Debussy, Bach1
1999A Midsummer Night's Dream / Symphony 4 "Italian"Mendelssohn; Otto Klemperer, Heather Harper, Janet Baker, Philharmonia Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra1
2002The Very Best of Janet BakerDame Janet Baker1
2003The Legendary Dame Janet BakerDame Janet Baker1
2003Janet Baker with Dietrich Fischer-DieskauD. Scarlatti, A. Scarlatti, Monteverdi, H. Lawes, W. Lawes, Handel; Janet Baker, Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau1
2004Schubert: Symphony No. 9 'Great C major' / Brahms: Alto Rhapsody / Academic Festival OvertureSchubert, Brahms;Janet Baker, London Philharmonic Orchestra,Sir Adrian Boult1
2005The Great Voice of Dame Janet BakerDame Janet Baker1
2007Monteverdi, Gratiani, Barringcloe, Humfrey, Purcell, Schubert, Fauré, Gounod, HandelClaudio Monteverdi, Bonifatio Gratiani, Mister Barringcloe, Pelham Humfrey, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Fauré, Charles-François Gounod, George Frideric Handel; Janet Baker1
2007The Dream of Gerontius / Enigma VariationsElgar; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Janet Baker, John Mitchinson, John Shirley‐Quirk, Simon Rattle1
2010Janet Baker: The Beloved MezzoDame Janet Baker1
2011Mass in B minor, BWV 232 / Cantata 'Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen', BWV 56Bach; John Shirley‐Quirk, Margaret Marshall, Dame Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Samuel Ramey, St. Anthony Singers, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus, Sir Neville Marriner1
2012Elgar: Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures / Delius: Cello Concerto, Songs of FarewellElgar; Delius; Jacqueline du Pré, Dame Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent1
2018Dvorak: Cello Concerto, Silent Woods / Elgar: Cello Concerto, Sea PicturesAntonín Dvořák, Edward Elgar; Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim, Dame Janet Baker, Sir John Barbirolli, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & London Symphony Orchestra1
2019Six CantatasJohann Sebastian Bach; Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Júlia Várady, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Timothy Brown, Susan Milan, Ian Watson, Denis Vigay, Raymond Koster, Aldo Baldin, John Shirley‐Quirk, St. Anthony Singers, Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Philip Ledger, Rachel Lord, George Malcolm1
—Hector Berlioz: Les Nuits d’été op. 7 / Gustav Mahler: Fünf Rückert‐LiederHector Berlioz, Gustav Mahler; Janet Baker, Sir John Barbirolli, New Philharmonia Orchestra1
—String Quintet in C / Ave Maria and other popular songsFranz Schubert; Chilingirian Quartet, Dame Janet Baker1

Album + Live

YearTitleArtistRatingReleases
1992Cantate BWV 147, 3 MotetsJohann Sebastian Bach; Sir David Willcocks, Elly Ameling, Dame Janet Baker, Ian Partridge, John Shirley‐Quirk, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge1

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