Helen Josephine Watts, a Welsh contralto, was born on December 7, 1927 in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. She studied voice at the Royal Academy of Music and began her career with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. In 1955, she debuted at The Proms, singing Bach arias. In 1964, she toured the Soviet Union with the English Opera Group, performing the lead role in The Rape of Lucretia. Notable performances include her portrayal of Mistress Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff with the Welsh National Opera in 1969. Watts recorded extensively, including a monumental edition of forty Bach cantatas conducted by Helmuth Rilling and several recordings as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1978. Watts passed away on October 7, 2009 at the age of 81.
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J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 130, BWV 101, BWV 67 (Elly Ameling – The Bach Edition, Vol. 5)
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J.S. Bach: Magnificat, BWV 243; Meine Seel erhebt den Herren Cantata, BWV 10 (Elly Ameling – The Bach Edition, Vol. 6)
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J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 (Elly Ameling – The Bach Edition, Vol. 8)
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| J.S. Bach: Osteroratorium (Elly Ameling – The Bach Edition, Vol. 11) |
| Benjamin Britten: Song Cycles |
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Handel: Cantatas; Arias
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Helen Watts – Lieder Recital
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| Songs for Courtiers and Cavaliers |
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Mahler Symphony No. 2
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| Handel: Judas Maccabeus (Complete Oratorio) |
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Haydn: Nelson Mass – Vivaldi: Gloria – Handel: Zadok the Priest
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Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor "Resurrection"
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Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, GMW 30 "Resurrection"
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Williams: The Dancers, Two Choruses, Ave Maris Stella & 6 Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems
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Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict; Irlande
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