(Dame) Janet Baker
While mezzo-soprano Janet Baker was best known for her performances of British music, especially that of her compatriot Benjamin Britten, she was also a fine performer of art song, sacred music, and Classical and pre-Classical opera. Her repertoire, as well as her background, frequently overlapped that of her great predecessor, Kathleen Ferrier; though her career was mostly centered in England, and she always had a special place in the regard of English audiences, her fame was international.
In 1956, she won the second prize in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition; that year also saw her operatic debut as Roza in Smetana's The Secret, in an Oxford University Opera Club performance. In 1962, she first sang with the English Opera Group, as Polly in Benjamin Britten's famous production of The Beggar's Opera at Aldeburgh. She later credited the leading spirits of that group, Britten and tenor Peter Pears, as giving the ensemble and its singers the highest possible standards, as well as raising the reputation of British singers internationally. In 1966, she made her Covent Garden debut as Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and her Glyndebourne debut as Purcell's Dido. In 1971, Britten wrote the role of Kate Julian for Baker in his opera Owen Wingrave, written for BBC television.
As her operatic career progressed, Baker focused on pre-Classical and Classical works such as Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, Handel's Giulio Cesare, the title role of Gluck's Alceste, Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Ottavia in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, and Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte. However, she also performed Romantic and 20th century roles such as Dido in Berlioz's Les Troyens a Carthage; Donizetti's Maria Stuarda; Charlotte in Massenet's Werther; and Octavian in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. Much of her recital repertoire was drawn from the standard works of Fauré, Schumann, Schubert, Duparc, Haydn, and Mahler, and the British masters such as Purcell and Elgar; however, she also drew from the works of lesser-known composers, particularly from the pre-classical period, taking special pleasure in bringing their works to public attention. In 1982, she gave her farewell performances as Orfeo in London and at Glyndebourne.
© TiVo
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Elgar: Cello Concerto, Op. 85 & Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Jacqueline du Pré, (Dame) Janet Baker, Sir John Barbirolli, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1965
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder & Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
(Dame) Janet Baker, Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1968
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Vocal Trios & Quartets (Elly Ameling – The Philips Recitals, Vol. 14)
Elly Ameling, (Dame) Janet Baker, Peter Schreier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Live)
George Szell, (Dame) Janet Baker, Richard Lewis, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Urania Records on 3 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Stereo Version)
(Dame) Janet Baker, Raimund Herincx, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1962
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dame Janet Baker: Philips And Decca Recordings 1961-1979
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Così Fan Tutte (Complete Mozart Edition)
Montserrat Caballé, (Dame) Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra, (Dame) Janet Baker
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 15 May 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das Lied von Der Erde
(Dame) Janet Baker, James King, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: 4 Serious Songs, Op. 121 & Other Lieder
André Previn, (Dame) Janet Baker
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 10 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 11 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Songs by Ravel, Chausson & Delage
(Dame) Janet Baker, Melos Ensemble, Bernard Keeffe
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 3 Jan 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Beloved Mezzo
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 2 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Vocal Quartets
Elly Ameling, (Dame) Janet Baker, Peter Schreier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 26 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Duets
(Dame) Janet Baker, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore, Rias Kammerchor
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 26 Aug 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Ariodante
Norma Burrowes, (Dame) Janet Baker, James Bowman, London Voices, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas Z. 626 by Dame Janet Baker
(Dame) Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 14 Jul 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of Janet Baker
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 18 Feb 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Lieder
(Dame) Janet Baker, Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 6 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Plaisir d'amour - A Celebration of the Art of Dame Janet Baker
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo