Kate Royal
Encyclopedia
Kate Royal is an English lyric soprano
. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer.
Royal attended Talbot Heath School
in Bournemouth, Dorset. Her teachers as a youth included Jon Andrew. She later studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
and then the National Opera Studio
, graduating in the summer of 2004. In that same year, she won the Kathleen Ferrier
Award.
Royal began to attract wider notice as an understudy for the role of Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne Festival Opera
in 2004, when she replaced the lead soprano at one performance. With Glyndebourne on Tour, she has sung the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She has performed in recital with the pianists Graham Johnson and Roger Vignoles
. In 2006 with Glyndebourne on Tour, she sang The Governess in Benjamin Britten
's The Turn of the Screw. Later the same year, she signed a recording contract with EMI
Classics, and her first disc of songs and arias was released in September 2007. She dedicates 5 months per year to song recitals.
Royal and her husband, the actor Julian Ovenden
, have a son, Johnny Beau, born in October 2009. The couple married in December 2010, officiated by Ovenden's father, Canon John Ovenden, who also christened their son in a double ceremony.
Other
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer.
Royal attended Talbot Heath School
Talbot Heath School
Talbot Heath School is a selective, independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3–18 located in Talbot Woods, Bournemouth.The school was founded in 1886 as Bournemouth High School, by Mary Broad, with eighteen pupils. In 1935 the school moved from its original site in Westbourne to Talbot...
in Bournemouth, Dorset. Her teachers as a youth included Jon Andrew. She later studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
and then the National Opera Studio
National Opera Studio
The National Opera Studio in London, England was established 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 the first time of its own dedicated premises in Chapel Yard,...
, graduating in the summer of 2004. In that same year, she won the Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
Award.
Royal began to attract wider notice as an understudy for the role of Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
in 2004, when she replaced the lead soprano at one performance. With Glyndebourne on Tour, she has sung the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She has performed in recital with the pianists Graham Johnson and Roger Vignoles
Roger Vignoles
Roger Vignoles is a British pianist and accompanist. He regularly performs with the world’s leading singers – including Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Hampson, Gitta-Maria Sjøberg, Sarah Walker, Susan Graham, Felicity Lott, Stephan Genz, Monica Groop, Wolfgang Holzmair,...
. In 2006 with Glyndebourne on Tour, she sang The Governess in Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's The Turn of the Screw. Later the same year, she signed a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Classics, and her first disc of songs and arias was released in September 2007. She dedicates 5 months per year to song recitals.
Royal and her husband, the actor Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II....
, have a son, Johnny Beau, born in October 2009. The couple married in December 2010, officiated by Ovenden's father, Canon John Ovenden, who also christened their son in a double ceremony.
Discography
Solo- Kate Royal: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Edward Gardner (EMI Classics, 2007)
- The Songs of Robert Schumann Vol. 10: Eichendorff Liederkreis, Op 39, with Graham Johnson, Felicity LottFelicity LottDame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, DBE, FRCM is an English soprano.-Education:From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and began singing lessons at 12. She is an alumna of Royal Holloway, University of London, obtaining a BA in French and...
, and Ann MurrayAnn MurrayAnn Murray DBE is an Irish mezzo-soprano. She was born on 27 August 1949, in Dublin. She studied with Frederic Cox at the Royal Manchester College of Music and made her stage debut as Alcestis in Christoph Willibald Gluck's Alceste in 1974...
(Hyperion, 2007) - Midsummer Night: Orchestra of English National Opera & Crouch End Festival Chorus, Edward Gardner (2007) EMI Records Ltd. Barcode 0094639441952
- A Lesson in Love, with Malcolm MartineauMalcolm MartineauMalcolm Martineau is a Scottish pianist.- Biography :Born in Edinburgh, and educated at George Watson's College, Malcolm Martineau read Music at St Catharine's College, Cambridge...
(piano)(EMI 2010)
Other
- Ian BostridgeIan BostridgeIan Bostridge CBE is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.-Early life and education:...
featuring Kate Royal: Great Handel (EMI Classics, 2007) - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
featuring Kate Royal: Ecce Cor Meum (EMI Classics, 2006) - Choir of King's College, CambridgeChoir of King's College, CambridgeThe Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
featuring Kate Royal: Purcell: Music for Queen Mary - DVD Paul McCartney: Ecce Cor Meum (2007)