Janet Coster is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

. Born in London, the daughter of a London Transport employee, Coster studied at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...

and privately with

Eva Turner Dame Eva Turner (10 March 1892 – 16 June 1990) was an English dramatic soprano. Determined from an early age to become an opera singer, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and then joined the chorus of the Carl Rosa Opera Com ...

. In the 1960s she undertook a number of roles at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

including the boy in the 1966 production of

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

's ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'' with

Boris Christoff Boris Christoff (, ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Early life He was born in Plovdiv on 18 May 1914 to parents Kyryl Christov and Rayna Teodoro ...

in the title role. In 1969 Coster joined the roster of principal artists at the Cologne Opera, making her debut there as Vitellia in a new production of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

’s ''

La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

''. At that time this particular Mozart opera was rarely performed and the production, directed by Jean Pierre Ponnelle, received high acclaim from music critics internationally. In 1975 she sang a brilliant Eboli in the Cologne Opera's production of Verdi's "Don Carlos". She also sang with Welsh National Opera to great acclaim in roles such as Azucena in Trovatore. Over the next decade she sang a wide number of roles at this theatre and other German houses. Returning to Britain she was Amneris in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' for the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British 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 E ...

and undertook a considerable amount of Broadcasting for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Her sister Tammy St. John had some success as a popular singer.

Recordings

Coster has participated in a number of important recordings, including Léonard in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...

'' by

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

with a cast including

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voic ...

Dame Kiri te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

and

Martina Arroyo Martina Arroyo (born February 2, 1937) is an American operatic soprano who had a major international opera career from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success. Arroyo first ...

and ''

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

'' by

Cilea Cilea or CILEA may refer to: * Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per l'Elaborazione Automatica, academic consortium in Italy * Francesco Cilea Francesco Cilea (; 23 July 1866 – 20 November 1950) was an Italian composer. Today he is part ...

with

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

References

*Dean, Winton review of ''Scenes from Torquato Tasso, Gemma di Vergy, Belisario, Parisina by Donizetti; Caballe; LSO; Cillario'' (The Musical Times, Vol. 112, No. 1538 (Apr., 1971), pp. 348–349
Opera Today review of La forza del destino with Coster, accessed 27 January 2010

External links

Discography at ArkivMusic.com
English opera singers English operatic mezzo-sopranos Living people Singers from London Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-opera-singer-stub