Elizabeth Watts
{{About|the British soprano|the Irish printer and bookseller|Elizabeth Watts (printer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Elizabeth Watts (born 1979) is an English operatic soprano.
Watts was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School for Girls.{{cite web |accessdate=2018-04-20 |title=Our Alumnae |url=http://www.norwichhigh.gdst.net/alumnae-and-the-gdst.html |website=www.norwichhigh.gdst.net |publisher=Norwich High School for Girls |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002173240/http://www.norwichhigh.gdst.net/alumnae-and-the-gdst.html |url-status=dead }} She studied archaeology at Sheffield University and graduated with first class honours. Beginning in 2002, she studied music at the Royal College of Music with Lillian Watson. She graduated in 2005 with distinction and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl, awarded annually for outstanding achievement. From 2005 to 2007, she was a member of the Young Singers’ Programme at English National Opera. In the 10/11 season she was Pamina/Die Zauberflöte for Welsh National Opera and Marzelline/Fidelio for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Life and career
In 2006, Watts won the Kathleen Ferrier Award. She represented England at the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, reaching the final and winning the prestigious Rosenblatt Song Prize Competition.{{cite news | author=George Hall | title=Cardiff Singer of the World final (St David's Hall, Cardiff) | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jun/19/classicalmusicandopera.reviews | work=The Guardian | date=19 June 2007 | accessdate=2008-08-09}} She was chosen as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2007-2009. In 2011 she won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbtrust.com/2011/awards/elizabeth_watts.html|title=Elizabeth Watts soprano BBT Award Winner 2011|work=Borletti-Buitoni Trust|accessdate=22 February 2011}}
Her earliest US appearances were in Boston with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston in 2006{{cite news
|author=Lloyd Schwartz
|title=Orpheus ascending
|url=http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/23498-Orpheus-ascending/
|work=Boston Phoenix
|date=26 September 2006
|accessdate=2008-08-09
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519191625/http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/23498-Orpheus-ascending/
|archivedate=2011-05-19
}} and with Cal Performances in San Francisco.{{cite news|
author=Joshua Kosman|
title=Mark Morris keeps tastiest morsels of 'King Arthur' to cook up vibrant theatrical stew of song and dance|
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/02/DDGPOLFJML1.DTL|
work=San Francisco Chronicle|
date=2 October 2006|
accessdate=2008-08-09}} She made her debut at Santa Fe Opera in July 2008.{{cite news|
author=Anthony Tommasini|
title=From Handel, Faithlessness and Devotion|
url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/arts/music/04figa.html|
work=New York Times|
date=4 August 2008|
accessdate=2008-08-09}} Recently Watts sang Mozart Requiem with the Boston Handel & Haydn Society and Harry Christophers which will be released on CD.
Watts’ other recordings include discs of Schubert Lieder and Bach Arias, both of which were chosen as Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice. She has also released recordings of Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes, Handel's Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral Society and Brahms Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
In January 2011, Watts was appointed as an Artist in Residence at London's Southbank Centre for the 2011-12 season.{{cite web|url=http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/sites/default/files/press_releases/Southbank_Centre_Classical_Music_2011_12_Season_-_28_Jan_2011.pdf|title=Southbank Centre Classical Music 2011_12 Season|last=Anon|year=2011|publisher=Southbank Centre Press Release notes|accessdate=14 May 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610201301/http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/sites/default/files/press_releases/Southbank_Centre_Classical_Music_2011_12_Season_-_28_Jan_2011.pdf|archivedate=10 June 2015}}
In 2016 she premiered the role of The Countess in Elena Langer's opera Figaro Gets a Divorce, at the Welsh National Opera.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://elizabethwattssoprano.com/ Homepage]
- [http://www.roh.org.uk/people/elizabeth-watts Artists page] from the Royal Opera House
- [http://www.maxinerobertson.com/index.php?load=artists&artist=ew Maxine Robertson Management page on Elizabeth Watts]
- [http://www.musicalpointers.co.uk/competitions/KathleenFerrierAwards2006.htm Kathleen Ferrier Awards 2006 page on Elizabeth Watts]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/cardiffsinger/sites/2007/pages/england.shtml BBC webpage from the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World]
{{BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition}}
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Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Category:English operatic sopranos