Lesley Garrett,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 10 April 1955) is an English
soprano singer
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, musician, broadcaster and media personality. She is noted for being at home in opera and "
crossover music
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differi ...
".
Early life
Garrett was born in the town of
Thorne, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire , into a musical family. She attended Thorne Fieldside Infant and Junior Schools and
Thorne Grammar School
Trinity Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school in the English Academy programme, at Thorne near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.
It is a member of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation, established by entrepreneur Sir Peter ...
. As she grew up she inherited her family's love of music. Her grandfather Colin Wall was a classical pianist; her father Derek worked as a railway signalman and then as a schoolteacher at Hatfield Woodhouse Primary School, eventually going on to become a headmaster. They lived nearby just south of the village; her mother Margaret (née Wall) was a talented singing seamstress and became the school secretary at Lesley's primary school. She has two sisters, Jill and Kay, one step-sister, Louise, and two step-brothers named Robert and Nicholas. While a student at the
Royal Academy of Music she worked as a life model, something of which she is still proud.
Music
Garrett has had an extensive music career. A graduate of the
Royal Academy of Music and an alumna of the prestigious
National Opera Studio
The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for t ...
, she won the Decca Prize of the
Kathleen Ferrier Award
The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for Opera singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. According to the ''Telegraph'', the competition has a record of "spotting winners".
Originally conc ...
in 1979, thereby launching her career. Her professional debut, in 1979, was as Amor in ''
Orontea
''Orontea'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the Italian composer Antonio Cesti with a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini (revised by Giovanni Filippo Apolloni).
Performance history
The first performance took place in Innsbruck on 1 ...
'' at the music festival in
Batignano
Batignano () is a small town in southern Tuscany, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Grosseto, positioned at about 10 km north-east of the capital on one of the last foot-hills of the valley of Ombrone which dominated the ancient city of Ros ...
. She subsequently sang, in 1980, Alice in ''
Le comte Ory
''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera '' Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug ...
'' at the
London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
and Dorinda in ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
'' at the
Wexford Festival
Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.
The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gener ...
, in 1981, also at Wexford, the title role in ''
Zaide
''Zaide'' (originally, ''Das Serail'') is an unfinished German-language opera, K. 344, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780. Emperor Joseph II, in 1778, was in the process of setting up an opera company for the purpose of performing ...
'', in 1982 Sophie in ''
Werther
''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel '' Th ...
'' with
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
and in 1984 Damigella in ''
L'incoronazione di Poppea
''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni ...
'' at
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...
. From 1984, as principal soprano at
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
, she became well known for her performances in productions of the operas ''
Serse
''Serse'' (; English title: ''Xerxes''; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia (1 ...
'', ''
Le Nozze di Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'', ''
Così fan tutte'', ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original li ...
''
and ''
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''.
Garrett has performed across the world, in countries throughout Europe, and also the United States, Australia, Russia,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Japan,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. She has also sung opera and pop classics with
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...
,
Eurythmics and
Mick Hucknall
Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...
to celebrate the arrival of the new century on Millennium Eve in the grounds at the
Royal Observatory and
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...
.
She played the lead role of Hanna Glawari in the
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...
's production of ''
The Merry Widow
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...
'', which toured the United Kingdom in 2005. In 2006 she sang the role of Mother Abbess in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
''. In 2008, she joined the cast of ''
Carousel'' as Nettie Fowler. The production toured the UK and then transferred to the West End's
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...
. In 2013 she returned to opera with the
monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.
In opera
In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Pygmalion'', which w ...
''
La Voix humaine
' (English: ''The Human Voice'') is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked ...
'' for
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
.
She created the role of Val in ''Pleasure'', the first opera by
Mark Simpson, directed by
Tim Albery
Tim Bronson Reginald Albery (born 20 May 1952) is an English stage director, best known for his productions of opera.
Life and career
Albery was born in Harpenden, the son of the impresario Donald Albery and grandson of the producer Sir Bronso ...
and premiered at the Howard Assembly Room by Opera North, in April 2016.
Garrett is a member of the board of the
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
and a vice president of
Harrogate International Festivals
Harrogate International Festivals (HIF) is a registered charity and one of the UK's longest running arts festivals, having been established in 1966. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Festivals include the Harrogate Music Festival, Theakston Ol ...
.
In 2002 Garrett was appointed a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for her services to music. She was also awarded with a
BASCA
The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...
Gold Badge Award in October 2010, in recognition of her contribution to music.
Performances at sporting events
Garrett has performed at several
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
s, including the
2000 Final, the last to be held at the old
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
,
[ the 2007 final held at the new ]Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
(alongside Sarah Brightman), and the 2008 Final (alongside Katherine Jenkins).
She also sang the British national anthem on the Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...
in Paris in 2012 after Bradley Wiggins
Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...
became the first Briton to win the Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
, though her performance was not universally appreciated.
Television and radio
In 2004, Garrett was one of the participants in the first series of the celebrity talent contest '' Strictly Come Dancing''; she and her dance partner Anton du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One celebrity dancing sh ...
finished third. In the same year she took part in the BBC's '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', a genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
documentary series, in which she journeyed through her home town of Thorne in search of her family history. She was delighted to discover that the musical gene stretched far back and had run in her family for several generations: her maternal grandfather made a living playing the piano with a small orchestra that accompanied silent films at cinemas in and around Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
. A great-grandfather was a travelling musician, working across northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in the 19th century, playing to workers in pubs and clubs. During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he entertained troops on the piano. Garrett is a veteran of Dictionary Corner on the Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
game show ''Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'', and in June 2005 it was thought that she was to become one of the show's rotating guest hosts while Richard Whiteley
John Richard Whiteley (28 December 1943 – 26 June 2005) was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show ''Countdown''. ''Countdown'' was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:4 ...
was recovering from illness. After Whiteley's death, however, the plan for rotating guest hosts was abandoned and Des Lynam
Desmond Michael Lynam, (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, presentin ...
took the role for the next fifteen months. Garrett did not appear on ''Countdown'' again until October 2009.
On Christmas Day 2004, BBC Two broadcast ''Lesley Garrett – Music from the Movies'', co-starring her with Ruthie Henshall
Valentine Ruth Henshall (born 7 March 1967), known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End d ...
, Michael McCarthy with the backing of the Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
orchestra. The programme was recorded at the ''Opera In The Park'' concert which had taken place in the grounds of Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam (historically Temple Newsham), () is a Tudor- Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.
The estate lends its name to the Temple Newsam ward of Leeds City Council, in which i ...
, West Yorkshire on 19 July 2003.
In February 2005, Garrett was selected to be one of the judges for BBC's '' Comic Relief does Fame Academy'', and in May she hosted and sang at the 2005 Classical BRIT Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on ITV. She was a regular panellist on the ITV daytime show '' Loose Women'' during 2006; she featured there again in 2009 and 2010, before returning in May 2014. Garrett also appeared on '' This Morning'' and ''Loose Women'' in 2007, to perform a song from her latest album ''When I Fall in Love''. She also continued the post as a judge on ''Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'' in 2007. She currently presents a show on the British classical radio station Classic FM.
From February 2008 Garrett presented the show ''Lesley Garrett's 20 Operas to See Before You Die'' on ''Sky Arts
Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
''.
Over four weeks, beginning on 30 November 2008, she presented the Sunday morning BBC1 programme ''Christmas Voices''.
In November 2010 she joined a long line of panellists on Five's ''The Wright Stuff
''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...
''.
Along with Larry Lamb
Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series ...
, Garrett presented a short BBC series entitled ''When Royals Wed'' to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship si ...
in April 2011.
On 30 May 2014 she made her return to the ITV daytime show '' Loose Women''. It was announced on the programme that she would become a regular panellist again.
She featured on the TV show ''My Life on a Plate'' on 10 September 2017; chef Brian Turner accompanied her on a trip to key locations from her childhood in Yorkshire, where she was taught by her parents to make the most out of what was available. The chef then created two dishes that wove nostalgia and the taste of home together.
Personal life
Garrett married in May 1991: her husband, Dr. Peter Christian, is a retired G.P. in Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...
. They have a son, Jeremy, and a daughter, Chloe. The family home is in north London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
.
Discography
As a recording artist, Garrett has released eleven solo albums. Many of them have been successful, receiving gold and silver status. ''Soprano in Red'' received the Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...
for "Best-selling Classical Artist of the Year". Garrett was also a featured artist on the platinum selling " Perfect Day" single released by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
and other leading British musical theatre performers. Her rendition of "I Belong to the Earth" was included on two of her solo albums.
Other recordings include complete audio operas: Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' (Papagena) conducted by
, Mozart's ''Così fan tutte'' (Despina), also conducted by Mackerras and Yum-Yum in the audio and video recordings of the
'' from ENO, in which she played the leading soprano role, Yum-Yum. She appears on two other DVDs of complete works from English National Opera, Handel's ''Ariodante'' (Dalinda) and ''
'' (Atalanta). In the video of the 1984
, she sings Nutrice and Valletto.
*''A Soprano at the Movies'' (1991) AUS No. 74
*''Prima Donna'' (1992)
*''Simple Gifts'' (1994)
*''The Lesley Garrett Album'' (1994) –
No. 25
*''Soprano in Red'' (1995) – No. 59
*''Soprano in Hollywood'' (1996) – UK No. 53
*''A Soprano Inspired'' (1997) – UK No. 48
*''Lesley Garrett'' (1998) – UK No. 34
*''I Will Wait For You'' (2000) – UK No. 28
*''
'' (2001) – UK No. 75
*''The Singer'' (2002)
*''So Deep is the Night'' (2003)
*''When I Fall in Love'' (2007) – UK No. 11
*''Amazing Grace'' (2008) – UK No. 50
*''A North Country Lass'' (2012) – UK No. 66
*''Centre Stage: The Musicals Album'' (2015)
*''The Soprano's Greatest Hits'' (1997) – UK No. 53
*''The Best of Lesley Garrett'' (2004)
*''Lesley Garrett'' (1998)
*''I Will Wait For You'' (2000)
*''Notes From The Heart'' (2003)
*''Desert Dreams'' (2004)
*''Lesley Garrett: Music from the Movies'' (2006)
*''Lesley Garrett Live At Christmas'' (2008)
*''Notes From a Small Soprano'' – 2000
*''Lesley Garrett: My Autobiography''* – 2000
*''Lesley Garrett Song Collection'' – 2001