Walker, Sarah

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Walker, Sarah

Walker, Sarah, English mezzo-soprano; b. Cheltenham, March 11, 1943. She studied violin with A. Brosa, cello with H. Philips, and voice with R. Packer and V. Rozsa at the Royal Coll. of Music in London (1961-65). In 1969 she made her operatic debut as Monteverdi’s Ottavia with the Kent Opera, and then sang Diana and Jove in Cavalli’s Calistoat the Glyndebourne Festival in 1970. In 1972 she became a member of the Sadler’s Wells Opera in London, and continued to appear there after it became the English National Opera in 1974. She appeared as Magdalene in Die Meistersinger von Nürnbergin Chicago in 1977. In 1979 she made her debut at London’s Covent Garden as Charlotte. In 1981 she sang Berlioz’s Dido in Vienna. On Feb. 3,1986, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y as Micah in Handel’s Samson. In 1987 she created the role of Caroline in the British premiere of Sallinen’s The King Goes Forth to Warat Covent Garden. As a concert artist, she appeared throughout Europe and North America. In 1991 she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

— Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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