Meet soprano Elizabeth Watts

Soprano singer Elizabeth Watts

KIM BRISCOE
06 December 2008

She has been singing for longer than she can remember and is now bringing music into thousands of homes. KATE SCOTTER talks to soprano singer Elizabeth Watts about her career, ambitions and her hometown.

With a voice like an angel, Elizabeth Watts has made a career out of singing, won numerous awards and has now released her first album.

It was a job choice she did not realise she would be able to make, but after being a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and dedicating more and more of her time to singing while at university, she knew it was all she wanted to do.

Born in 1979 at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, she grew up with her older sisters Laura and Verity in Hethersett.

Sound and music was always a key part of their lives as their dad Peter, who still lives in the area, in Little Melton, was a sound supervisor at Anglia TV. Their mum, Rosemary, meanwhile, was a parish clerk and ran tours of Norfolk before she moved to Lincolnshire 10 years ago. She died from cancer three years ago.

Having studied physics, general studies, economics and classics at Norwich High School, Miss Watts, who is now 29, went on to study archaeology at the University of Sheffield and graduated with first class honours.

She decided archaeology was not the career for her, however, and in 2002 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Lillian Watson on the Advanced Opera studies course at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School.

“I've been singing all my life, we always sang as a family and at school, I can't remember when I didn't sing,” said the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize winner.

“I didn't really know how you could make that a career. I wanted to be on the stage for a while and then did archaeology but decided that wasn't for me and singing became a bigger part of my life.”

The rising star, who currently lives in Croydon, just outside London, graduated from the Royal College in 2005 with distinction and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl, on top of numerous other prizes and awards.

She then went on to receive international acclaim representing England at the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, reaching the final and winning the prestigious Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize and automatic selection for BBC Radio 3's prestigious New Generation Artists Scheme.

And now she has just released her debut album, 'Schubert - Lieder', a collection of music by the Austrian composer, which has garnered rave reviews.

She described releasing her first album as “a dream come true”. She said: “I still can't believe it. It all happened quite quickly, I started recording in May and it came out in November.

“All the songs are by Schubert and there's some stunningly beautiful music. I try to sing everything from the heart. It's an intimate collection of beautiful songs and hopefully it's very enjoyable.”

In the build up to Christmas, she is playing concerts throughout the UK. This week, she was at the Barbican in London and next weekend she will be at St David's Hall in Cardiff.

She said one of favourite things about performing was sharing the music she loves with people. “I enjoy being able to give people the music I love and expressing that.”

Apart from performing, she spends time rehearsing and travelling to various venues. She said: “It's a full time job. How long I spend rehearsing depends on what I'm doing. If it's something new, it takes quite a bit longer.

“Sometimes the travelling is difficult, being away from home can be difficult but it's a great job, I can't complain.”

She said to protect her voice, she has to stay healthy and look after herself. She said she eats a healthy diet and does not drink too much, smoke or go out on late nights in a bid to prevent illness.

Working and travelling take up most of her time but away from singing she enjoys cooking, looking at Facebook and has recently got hooked on TV series Spooks on BBC.

Once the Christmas concerts are over, she plans to come home to Norwich to visit her dad and see her friends.

She said: “I just love Norwich. It has a relaxed pace and is a lot different from London. Norwich is such a beautiful place, you don't realise just how beautiful it is until you go away and come back.

“I love coming home to see people and the Cathedral is a special place for me as I used to be a chorister there.

“I also love walking down Gentleman's Walk because I nearly always bump into someone I know.”

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