Janet Baker

Mezzo-soprano Janet Baker earned her greatest distinction through British repertoire, above all the works of compatriot Benjamin Britten, yet she also distinguished herself in art song, sacred music, and operas from both the Classical and pre-Classical eras. Her artistic choices and formative experiences closely paralleled those of her illustrious forerunner Kathleen Ferrier. Although her professional life remained centered in England, where domestic audiences maintained a special affection for her, Baker’s reputation spread worldwide.

She claimed second prize in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition in 1956, the same year she made her stage debut as Roza in Smetana’s The Secret for the Oxford University Opera Club. In 1962 she joined the English Opera Group for the first time, appearing as Polly in Benjamin Britten’s celebrated Aldeburgh production of The Beggar’s Opera. She later attributed the ensemble’s rigorous artistic standards and the growing international prestige of British singers to the leadership of Britten and tenor Peter Pears. Baker’s Covent Garden debut followed in 1966 as Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; that same year she first appeared at Glyndebourne in the title role of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Britten created the part of Kate Julian expressly for her in his 1971 opera Owen Wingrave, written for BBC television.

As her operatic work deepened, Baker concentrated on pre-Classical and Classical scores 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. She nevertheless ventured into Romantic and twentieth-century parts, among them Dido in Berlioz’s Les Troyens a Carthage, the title character of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther, and Octavian in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. Her recital programs drew heavily on established songs by Fauré, Schumann, Schubert, Duparc, Haydn, and Mahler, together with British masters Purcell and Elgar, yet she also championed lesser-known pre-Classical composers and took particular delight in bringing their music before the public. In 1982 she retired from the stage with farewell performances of Orfeo in London and at Glyndebourne.