Dame Janet Baker in conversation with Simon Callow

[@amybarshinger6491]

Dame Janet just blows me away. What an articulate & very dear lady.

[@fishermann1102]

She ages so gracefully!

[@treesny]

Several video interviews with Dame Janet Baker have been posted online, and in all of them she speaks with that extraordinary mixture of authority, humility, clarity, dignity and spiritual grace that suffused her singing. This one is my absolute favorite, in great part because she is clearly so at ease with Simon Callow. I hope that not only lovers of classical music but performers of all kinds watch and learn from this marvelous conversation! :)

[@mckavitt13]

Baker’s sense of humour, her dignity & depth, not to mention vulnerability, as an artist & human being, both singer & actress, are plumbed here, thanks to Simon Callow’s knowing, intelligent questions. He came prepared! And, contrary to other Baker interviews, he actually listens! Due to that & there being time, he gets incredible disclosures from Baker. There is a delicate balance between lightness & gravity... as all mighty & true conversations are. Nothing goes to breaking point. Callow speaks about his life & metier basically at Baker’s invitation. The mutual respect is palpable... no hero worship, feigned or real, thank goodness! How convenient that they share artistic performance careers without exercising exactly the same metier. There being only a generation or so apart also helps. Janet Baker is a milestone artist, seemingly an unrepeatable one. Formidably articulate, admirably authoritative & surprisingly humble & honest, respectful of other artists’ reticence, we can well believe this is the mezzo whose Live performances, like her studio recordings, are precious artefacts that we continue to listen to, often w awe. Baker is an artist who reaches for the greatest heights whilst remaining firmly down to earth. Many many thanks for the share. 👏👏👏

[@srg5405]

Dame Janet is not only a wonderful singer but also a beautiful and caring human being. Many of her colleagues have said how easy she was to work with; never the prima-donna!

[@zimnaya]

I love her erudition and intelligence but also her warmth, honesty and humanity. A wonderful interview, thank you so much

[@patshaw51]

Her speaking voice as magical as her singing!

[@patshaw51]

WHAT can I say? Your TOTAL service to the art of Music! Dame Janet! - EnJOY EVERYTHING you now want - SO well earned !🙏 and we ALL now humbly wish you future JOY!!

[@philliplove9699]

Thank you for such a relaxed and informative conversation - so full of wonderful thoughts and comments. I had the pleasure of singing tenor in the chorus when Janet Baker sang in the Barber Institute production of Rameau´s Hippolytus & Aricia in Birmingham and Oxford under the direction of Anthony Lewis in 1965. I was a first year student - just 19. At the end of the Oxford rehearsal I will never forget meeting Janet as I crossed the stage - and she asked me if I knew of anywhere decent to eat. I already had a date! Life really can be stranger than fiction.

[@patshaw51]

Bravo to both! Dame Janet’s approach to life is quite magnificent!

[@tollcross4755]

What an outstanding Artist, what a legacy. She absolutely glows. I watched a BBC documentary about her career a year or so back. It was beautiful and very emotional especially at the end with her husband. Artists of this calibre very rarely come along to bring a beautiful aesthetic to this world.

[@doorleofferhaus3900]

My parents (Dutch and German) met in 1967 in Dartington at the Music Festival. I grew up with their memories and quotes from the conversations there with artists like Gerald Moore and Dame Janet Baker. Wonderful to see her interviewed here!

[@sophiebengough9487]

There is such a beautiful mutual respect, interest and admiration. This is lovely!!! And so inspiring. Dame Janet Baker is also so obviously an actor and an artist, not only a singer.

[@panayotisioannidis]

What a moving experience, what an extraordinary gift (to be added to alleDamw Janet Baker's recordings, since I regretfully never saw her perform), this is. Thank you, Dame Janet, thank you, Simon Callow, thank you, Wigmore Hall.

[@loge10]

Remarkable conversation. For Dame Janet, it wasn't about being a star - not about ego - it was about the art. Not common these days; probably wasn't then, either, but at least if you had talent, you could find ways of having it nurtured and appreciated without needing the internet and social media which has effected the quality of who becomes a "star".

[@elizabethklausli5166]

So very well said

[@ferrisburgh802]

Truly a wonderful singer. Listening to her recordings issued on EMI as a 20 disk set is truly wonderfully rewarding.

[@cooperdogable]

I have the EMI SET and listen to all of it from to 20 two or three times a year. she continues to amaze and fascinate.

[@evgeny9965]

What a wonderful interview from both of these fine artists.

[@meggie3464]

BEautiful voice,, Thankyou .

[@patshaw51]

How insightful can an interview with one of my life’s GREATEST singers be!!

[@adapa22]

What a duet! I absolutely enjoyed it from start to finish! Thank you so much. Greetings from Argentina

[@iangraham5625]

The first opera I ever saw was Scottish Opera's production of Der Rosenkavalier in the early 70's. Dame Janet sang Octavian. From that moment opera has been my greatest passion.

[@corlyssd]

Lucky you! I had hoped to see her in person when I was an opera fanatic 65-83. Alas, she upped and retired before I could get to England.

[@brianmclean9102]

What a wonderful moving interview. Such insight in to a performer is rare. Callow does an excellent job in bringing out the heart and depth of Janet Baker.

[@Tamadehenzhan]

Dame J Baker ist ein Phänomen, Hochachtung 3x, Gottes Segen!

[@4444marla]

Really a wonderful interview of a truly great singer by a truly great actor!

[@kshapar]

What a wonderful hour! I'm so glad I found this video with 2 great, thoughtful artists

[@GRANITEDAME]

Such an intelligent interview by Simon Callow. He and Dame Janet really engaged, each drawing insights from the other. So many thanks for posting.

[@patrickpat4499]

GENIUS!

[@deedeequast9148]

Weeping here with joy and amazement.

[@lucianopavarotti2843]

Can also recommend the superb and moving documentary by the BBC "Janet Baker in her own words", which is also on YT

[@salvadormelendez9432]

SHE IS JUST ONE OF THE SINGERS WHO GIVE US THE MOMENT TO SAY THANK TO THIS LIVE OF HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY OF LISTEN AND SEENIG HER ACTING AND SINGING . JUST TO SEE HER ONCE THE WHOLE LIFE IS WORTH TO LIVE. THANK YOU MY LADY BAKER TO GIVE SO MUCH HAPPINESS SEENIG YOU AND ACTING. I WILL ALLWAYS REMEMBER YOUR LAST APPAREANCE IN GLYNDBORN IN EURIDICE. JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD. " DU BIST MEIN HOLDER LADY"Y AND ICH DANKE DIR.

[@Suz71bu]

Thank you.

[@ransomcoates546]

Can anything be more beautiful than her Angel at the end of ‘Gerontius’?

[@mrslucibel]

Ransom Coates that is sublime. If I can I will have it at my funeral together with Kathleen Ferrier singing Erbarme Dich.

[@iwasglad122]

Elgar, Baker, Barbirolli......nothing more needs to be said!

[@frogmouth]

A most inspiring artist.

[@MrFalconford]

thank you for sharing your journey d j b

[@timbruneau6602]

Janet Baker was a priestess of singing.

[@caninbar]

I think most singers have felt a strong sense of destiny. A serious singing career requires passion, dedication and constancy. We don't always have a career, though, for various and obvious reasons.

[@elizabethshepherd9298]

Excellent, real & sincere

[@LBach-eq4ks]

Ravishing!

[@jlb9368]

So naturally regal!

[@johnhirst4673]

Two inspiring people having a friendly chat - not bad!

[@piustwelfth]

Dame Janet is revered in Britain as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. It's shocking that she is not better known in the USA. She is an artist of the highest quality. Have a listen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnnFhX2ojrRnmrc

[@frogmouth]

She did go to the US regularly and was well received . Joyce di Donato is a great fan

[@piustwelfth]

@@frogmouth Despite her visits to the USA, she's almost completely unknown here. Even many fans of classical music have not heard of her.

[@Fan-Tomas]

piękna kobieta fizycznie i duchowo pamięta Brittena

[@Fan-Tomas]

moja ulubionaa

[@shupingwang3392]

Janet Baker is very intelligent.

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

I could do with a few more like her these days.

[@voraciousreader3341]

Dame Janet was in a very small country, too, so she didn’t have to go far to find people who could teach and direct her. If you’re a girl in 1972 stuck in the middle of the US, hours and hours and HOURS from anywhere, you don’t know anybody, the people you know don’t know anybody, and you have zero idea how you’re supposed to support yourself if you decide to wing off to Chicago or New York….believe _ME,_ “destiny” doesn’t always work out! Not unless somebody comes up and hands you a stack of money! AND a parent who cares about you. True “Destiny” only resides in the souls who MAKE IT. And that’s THAT!!

[@davidjuliancooksey256]

more like in conversation with Callow

[@christopherczajasager9030]

What a pompous fellow...the interviewer 😮