Kathleen Battle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1972, Kathleen Battle was an elementary school music teacher in Cincinnati, studying voice in her spare time. Following a fortuitous audition with conductor Thomas Schippers later that year, which won her a spot in Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem in an Italian festival, her vocal career quickly gained momentum. By the end of the decade she had wowed the crowds at Carnegie Hall, Salzburg, the Met, Glyndebourne, and more, becoming one of the most coveted names in opera.

This exquisite 1990 recital showcases Battle's glorious tone and remarkable control in a selection of operatic favorites, traditional tunes, and spirituals, all performed against an extraordinary backdrop: the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Deeply moving in slower works like Handel's "Ombra mai fu" and Strauss's "Ständchen," and irrepressibly charming in uptempo arias like Mozart's "Un moto di gioia" and Strauss's "Mein Herr Marquis," Battle demonstrates her remarkable range and immaculate phrasing throughout the superbly chosen program. An out-and-out treasure, this recital spotlights Battle at her unforgettable best.