The English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

 Carolyn Watkinson (born 19 March 1949) is a well-known singer of baroque music

Baroque music

Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

.

Watkinson was born in Preston and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. In 1978 she sang Rameau

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...

's Phèdre at the English Bach Festival at London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

, Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

. In 1979 she appeared as Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...

's Nero with De Nederlandse Opera

De Nederlandse Opera

De Nederlandse Opera , in Amsterdam, is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Het Muziektheater, a modern building designed by Cees Dam which opened in 1986....

 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. Also in 1979 she was featured as the contralto soloist in Christopher Hogwood's landmark recording of Handel's Messiah, with the Academy of Ancient Music.

In 1981 Watkinson made her La Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

 debut as in the title role of Ariodante

Ariodante

Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...

and sang Rossini

Gioacchino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...

's Rosina in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

. She appeared as Gluck

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...

's Orfeo with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1982, and made her formal debut at Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne Festival Opera

Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...

 as Cherubino in 1984.

1987 Watkinson toured Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. She was a soloist in Bach

Bạch

Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...

's St. John Passion at Gloucester Cathedral in a performance shown on BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 TV on Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

 in 1989. In 1990, she appeared as Purcell

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...

's Dido and Aneas at the Salerno Cathedral and sang Nero at the Innsbruck Festival.

Recordings

• Baroque Opera Recital: Carolyn Watkinson with Jan de Vriend and Amsterdam Bach Soloists. Arias by Purcell, Handel and Gluck. EtCetera Records ETC 1064
• Recital at Wigmore Hall, Bizet, Brahms, Berg, Dvorak and Ives: Carolyn Watkinson with Tan Crone. Arias by Bizet, Brahms, Berg, Dvorak and Ives. EtCetera Records ETC 1007
• Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium BWV 248 with Barbara Schlick, Kurt Equiluz, Michel Brodard. Ensemble De Lausanne, dir M Corboz. Warner Classics, Catalog 686217
• Agostino Steffani: Duetti da camera with John Elwes, Paul Eswood and Daniella Mazzucato. Alan Cutis and Wouter Wouter Möller. Archiv, Calalog: 437083-2
• Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with Emma Kirkby and David Thomas. London Baroque, dir Charles Medlam. Harmonia Mundi France, Catalog: HMC901253.54
• Handel: Rinaldo Performers: Jeanette Scovotti, Ileana Cotrubas, Carolyn Watkinson, Paul Esswood and others. La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy
  La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy
  La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy is a French musical ensemble that performs using period instruments. The group was founded in 1966 by Jean-Claude Malgoire. While the ensemble has performed a wide repertoire from a variety of musical periods, the group has drawn particular acclaim for their...
  
  , dir. Jean-Claude Malgoire. Sony, Catalog: 7576412
• Handel: Serse Performers: Paul Esswood, Carolyn Watkinson, Barbara Hendricks and others. La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, dir. Jean-Claude Malgoire. Sony, Catalog: 752724
• Collectors Edition - Handel: Oratorios Performers: Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Judith Nelson, Paul Elliott, David Thomas and others. Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford New College Choir. Decca, Catalog: 000529602
• Handel: Messiah Performers: Emma Kirkby, Paul Elliott, Carolyn Watkinson, David Thomas and others. Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music, Christ Church Cathedral Choir. L'Oiseau Lyre, Catalog: 430488
• Handel: Alexander's Feast Performers: Ashley Stafford, Carolyn Watkinson, Donna Brown, Nigel Robson and others. John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir. Philips, Catalog: 000852702
• Handel: Solomon Performers: Carolyn Watkinson, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Nancy Argenta, Barbara Hendricks and others. John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir. Philips, Catalog: 000667002
• Bach: Cantatas Bwv 206, 215 Performers: Carolyn Watkinson, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz and others. Berlin Soloists, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, dir Peter Schreier. Berlin Classics, Catalog: 2422
• Bach: Zerreisset Bwv 205, Vereinigte Zwieracht Bwv 207 Performers: Carolyn Watkinson, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz and others. Berlin Soloists, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, dir Peter Schreier. Berlin Classics, Catalog: 2392
• Bach: Mass In B Minor Highlights Performers: Carolyn Watkinson, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz and others. Berlin Soloists, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, dir Peter Schreier. Berlin Classics, Catalog: 4910
• Bach: Alto Arias Performers: Helen Watts, Carolyn Watkinson, Hildegard Laurich, Julia Hamari and others. Helmuth Rilling, Stuttgart Bach Collegium. Hänssler Classic, Catalog: 98243
• Bach: Magnificat Performers: Paul Elliott, Carolyn Watkinson, Emma Kirkby, David Thomas and others. Simon Preston, Christopher Hogwood, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Academy of Ancient Music. L'oiseau Lyre, Catalog: 443199
• Vivaldi: Gloria, Motets, Cantatas Performers: Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Catherine Bott and others. Philip Pickett, Christopher Hogwood, Simon Preston, New London Consort, Academy of Ancient Music, Christ Church Cathedral Choir. L'oiseau Lyre, Catalog: 455727
• Purcell: Dido And Aeneas Performers: George Mosley, Carolyn Watkinson. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists. Philips, Catalog: 432114
• Monteverdi: Lamento D'arianna, Combattimento Performers: Nigel Rogers, Patrizia Kwella, David Thomas, Carolyn Watkinson. Reinhard Goebel, Musica Antiqua Cologne
• Haydn: Masses Performers: Emma Kirkby, Carolyn Watkinson, Judith Nelson, Shirley Minty, Rogers Covey-Crump and others. Simon Preston, Academy of Ancient Music, Christ Church Cathedral Choir. L'oiseau Lyre, Catalog: 455712
• Haydn: Arianna, English Canzonettas with Glen Wilson. Virgin Classics Veritas, Catalog: 91215
• Mozart: Requiem Performers: Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, David Thomas, Carolyn Watkinson. Christopher Hogwood, Academy of Ancient Music, Westminster Cathedral Boys Choir, Academy of Ancient Music Chorus. L'oiseau Lyre, Catalog: 411712
• Mozart: Requiem, Exultate Jubilate Performers: Judith Blegen, Carolyn Watkinson, Siegfried Jerusalem, Siegmund Nimsgern and others. Pinchas Zukerman, Helmuth Rilling, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart, Stuttgart Bach Collegium. Sony Classical Essential Classics, Catalog: 89849
• Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Scythian Suite with Kurt Masur, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Latvian State Choir. Apex, Catalog: 7487472
• Wagner: La Chevauchee Des Walkyries Performers: Margaretha Hintermeier, Anita Soldh, Silvia Herman, Carolyn Watkinson and others. Conductor: Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Klaus Tennstedt, Otto Klemperer. Emi Classics, Catalog: 558096
• Schmidt: Buch Mit Sieben Siegeln Performers: Carolyn Watkinson, Peter Schreier, Kurt Rydl, Thomas Moser and others. Lothar Zagrosek, Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Concert Choir. Orfeo, Catalog: 143862