Opera Singers Important To "Christmas In Washington" History

Clamma Dale

Performing for Presidents of the United States has long been a duty and service that comes with great honor for classical musicians for more than a century. Particularly highlighted during the holiday season in December each year since 1981, opera singers have played an integral part of the concert Christmas in Washington. Standing alongside fellow musicians from virtually every genre of the music world to celebrate holiday favorites has brought the world of opera to larger audiences via television. Taking a look back over the years, the following singers have been fortunate enough to be part of this American tradition: Frederica von Stade (1984), Clamma Dale (1986), Kathleen Battle (1988), Barbara Hendricks (1990), Dawn Upshaw (1995) Ruth Ann Swenson (1996), Thomas Hampson (1997), Harolyn Blackwell (1998), Charlotte Church (2001), Renée Fleming (2003),  and Andrea Bocelli (2010). Take a look at some of the

Kathleen Battle

performances after the jump. "One of two annual holiday specials produced by George Stevens, Jr. (the other being the Kennedy Center Honors), the variety show first aired in 1981 on NBC before moving to its current home on TNT in 1998. Recorded in Washington, D.C. at the National Building Museum, on the second Sunday of each December before being re-edited for later broadcast, Christmas in Washington is a one-hour concert featuring artists from musical genres. Each guest perform at least one solo, but the marquee performer usually has one or two more songs. The show also has at least one guest from the world of opera. Each of the musical performances are backed by a full orchestra and chorus. The show's finale consists of a medley performed by all the musical guests before

Frederica von Stade

the attendees-of-honor, the President of the United States and the First Lady, make a closing statement. Recent events have benefited Children's National Medical Center. The show also has a host. For many years, the show was hosted by Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin. However, since 2009, the show has had a single host. The 2013 edition featured Hugh Jackman as host and The Backstreet Boys as marquee performers, marking the first time in six years that a group has been featured as marquee performers. The show airs live on pay-per-view internationally and in most major cities, after which a re-edited 42-minute version (with commercials in a one-hour slot) airs on the aforementioned TNT network." [Source, Source, Source, Source, Source]  

Renee Fleming performing during the Christmas in Washington at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2003. | gettyimages.com

Charlotte Church Comes Out Against Sexualized Record Industry

The soprano has an estimated net worth
of $15 million, mostly earned from her many
recordings made during her tween years. 

"It is a male-dominated industry, with a juvenile perspective on gender and sexuality. From what I can see, there are three main roles that women are allowed to fill in modern pop music. Each of them restrictive for both artists and audience. They are mainly portrayed through the medium of the music video, you’ll find them very familiar. I call them One of the Girls’ Girls, the Victim/Torch Singer, and the Unattainable Sexbot. The One of the Girls’ Girls role is a painfully thin reduction of feminism that generally seems to point to a world where, ‘so long as you can hang out with your girls it’s possible to sort of wave away the evils that men do.’ This denigrates women and men equally, and yet is commonly lauded for being empowering. The Victim/Torch Singer can be divided into the sexy victim (ie, Natalie Imbruglia in the ‘Torn’ video) and the not-so-sexy victim. One female artist who does not use her sexuality to sell records is Adele. However, lyrically, her songs are almost without exception written from the perspective of the wronged woman, an archetype as old as time. Someone who has been let down by the men around her, and is subsequently in a perpetual state of despair. But to me, the Unattainable Sexbot is most

Charlotte Church Sang "Pie Jesu" For Murdoch Press Favors

"Singer Charlotte Church gave damning testimony against the British press at the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics on Monday. In it, she claimed that she sang for free at Rupert Murdoch's wedding in exchange for favorable press coverage. Church said that Murdoch gave her a choice: either she could take £100,000 for the job, or she could waive the fee in exchange for positive coverage from Murdoch's outlets. 'I remember being told that Rupert Murdoch had asked me to sing at his wedding to Wendi Deng and it would take place on his yacht in New York," Church told the inquiry. "I remember being told that [there would be] the offer of money or the offer of the favor, in order to basically get good press, to be looked upon favorably.'" [Source] Videos of the confession and the soprano singing "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem are after the jump.