After 11-year absence, opera great Kathleen Battle returns to Philly to raise a joyful noise

WHEN OPERA star Kathleen Battle performs in Philadelphia Friday, she won't be singing Handel or Mozart. Instead, her lyric soprano will ring out in spirituals, such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Glory, Glory Hallelujah."

"Many times, what gets commented on is the spirituals only," Battle, 66, said in a recent interview. "Sometimes you want someone to comment on your Schubert, as well. People are drawn to the spiritual. It has a universal appeal."

The Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall will host "Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey - An Evening with Kathleen Battle," marking Battle's first performance in Philadelphia since 2003.

Praised for her dulcet voice - and known for her diva temperament - Battle performed in multiple lead roles in Metropolitan Opera productions throughout the '80s and early '90s before her dismissal in 1994. She is a five-time Grammy winner, performed for Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, and collaborated with Alicia Keys for a performance in 2007.

This will be far from Battle's first encounter with spirituals on the stage. In 1991, she released "Spirituals in Concert" with fellow opera singer Jessye Norman. Although Battle has performed similar programs at Strathmore, in Maryland, and the University of Arizona, the Kimmel Center show will be the program's Philadelphia debut.

Narrations of works by Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass will be interspersed throughout the performance, and there will be a free preshow panel discussion about Philadelphia's role in the Underground Railroad - a factor that Battle said made Philadelphia a no-brainer location for the show.

The Philadelphia show will feature famed jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, Riza Printup on harp and the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale. Battle said that the lack of a full orchestra gives her more flexibility during the performance.

"You can even do things on the spot that you can't do with an orchestral program," Battle said.

Battle described Chestnut as "a blessing to sing with" and said that Printup will play a key role, her harp adding a new dimension to the performance.

"That's a unique opportunity - who gets to hear 'Little David' played on a harp with a harp player?" Battle said.

Spirituals, religious songs created by enslaved Africans, are important to Battle not just for their history but for her own musical development, she said.

"It influenced American music in incredible ways," Battle said. "From the spiritual came the blues, gospel and rhythm-and-blues. I heard all of that music growing up, and that has influenced how I approached classical music. I'm sure of it."

The preshow discussion will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Kimmel Center's SEI Innovation Studio.

Richard S. Newman, director of the Library Company of Philadelphia, and a member of the panel, said that spirituals served the practical purpose of communicating secret messages among slaves who were trying to escape through the Underground Railroad. Slaves may have sung a particular song to indicate an impending or successful escape.

"Spirituals provided a way for African-descended people to close off masters from their psyche," Newman said. "Spirituals were about holding on. Spirituals were about fighting a fight in this world, knowing that in the next world, a just god would wreak divine vengeance on former masters."

Newman said that the city is a fitting venue for a show like Battle's.

"She's coming to an area of profound importance," Newman said. "So, the spirituals aren't just about Southern slavery, they're about African-American survival and struggles, and Philadelphia still plays a key part in that."

Newman described himself as a huge fan of Battle and said that her performance would "create a whole new layer of meaning" in spirituals for those who hear her perform.

Battle said that her show will feature arrangements by the late Sylvia Olden Lee, a vocal coach and accompanist who was the first African-American hired by the Met. Lee lived in Germantown and worked as a vocal coach at the Curtis Institute of Music.

"She was a great teacher and lived in Philadelphia," Battle said. "I first met her in my student days when I was in the college conservatory at the University of Cincinnati. She has been a constant influence in my musical life as well. Some of these spirituals she taught to me."

Arrangements by composer Robert Sadin, whom Battle has worked closely with, also will be featured.

"He has this encyclopedic knowledge - he is a genius," said Battle. "He is an incredible vocal coach. He's encouraged me to include this repertoire in my classical programs."

Other songs in the program will include "Let Us Break Bread Together," "There Is a Balm in Gilead" and the crowd-pleasing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," during which Battle says audience members are welcome to sing-along.

Audience members may also sing the Negro National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," Battle said.

Despite having performed these spirituals before, Battle said that the Kimmel Center show will be far from a duplication of past recitals.

"It's impossible to rubber-stamp it, I feel," Battle said. "This concept is growing and evolving."

And for Battle, the evolution of spirituals is far from over.

"It's a great music, and we're keeping it alive," Battle said. "It is evolving. It is growing. It is living. It is a living art form."