A Glorious Return

Twenty two years after her dismissal by the Met's General Manager Joseph Volpe, Kathleen Battle returns to the Met Opera Stage. One of modern opera's true greats, Battle distinctive light lyric soprano voice saw her headlining opera houses the world over throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. Since her infamous firing in 1994 (for "unprofessional actions during rehearsals" in Volpe's words), she has leaned towards more jazzy and experimental works.

Battle has been drawn back to the Met for a recital of Spirituals, performed in remembrance of the Underground Railway, the network safe house and secret routes which helped thousands of Slaves escape to the Free States and Canada in the 19th Century. It's a program she's performed to great acclaim across the country, and in New York she'll be accompanied by Joel Martin on the piano and a choir led by James Davis Jr. of the Music Ministries and Fine Arts at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.