page_title: Kathleen Battle
section_title: 2000–present
hierarchical_section_title: Kathleen Battle / Life and career / 2000–present
caption_attribution_description: English: Soprano Kathleen Battle sings "The Lord's Prayer", Wednesday, April 16, 2008, during the arrival ceremony in honor of Pope Benedict XVI on the South Lawn of the White House. Español: La soprano Kathleen Battle canta "The Lord's Prayer" (en español: "El rezo del Señor"), el 16 de abril de 2008, durante una ceremonia en honor del papa Benedicto XVI, en el césped sur de la Casa Blanca.
context_page_description: Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s, until her eventual dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. She later has focused on recording and the concert stage. After a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in November 2016.
context_section_description: Battle has continued to pursue a number of diverse projects including the works of composers who are not associated with traditional classical music, performing the works of Vangelis, Stevie Wonder, and George Gershwin.
  In August 2000, she performed an all-Schubert program at Ravinia. In June 2001, she and frequent collaborator soprano Jessye Norman performed Vangelis' Mythodea at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece. In July 2003 she performed at the Ravinia Chicago Symphony Orchestra Gala with Bobby McFerrin and Denyce Graves. In 2006 she and James Ingram sang the song They Won't Go When I Go in a Tribute to Stevie Wonder and she began including Wonder's music in her recitals. In July 2007 she debuted at the Aspen Music Festival performing an all-Gershwin program as part of a season benefit. In October 2007, at a fundraiser for the Keep a Child Alive Charity, Kathleen Battle and Alicia Keys performed the song Miss Sarajevo written by U2's Bono.
  On April 16, 2008, she sang an arrangement of the Lord's Prayer for Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of his papal visit to the White House. This marks the second time she sang for a pope. (She first sang for Pope John Paul II in 1985 as soprano soloist in Mozart's Coronation Mass.) Later that year, she performed "Superwoman" on the American Music Awards with Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah. Since that time she has appeared in the occasional piano-voice recital, including a recital of works by Schubert, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff in Costa Mesa, California accompanied by Olga Kern (February 2010) and a recital in Carmel, Indiana, accompanied by Joel A. Martin (April 2013). After a 22-year absence from the Metropolitan Opera House, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Met in November 2016.
caption: Battle singing the Lord's Prayer (2008) in honor of the Pope
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