They said don’t call her Dame Granite. So I did

Nick2 says:

A superb singer whom all who had the joy of hearing can never forget. But surely, Norman, Dame Janet was never a contralto! She was always a mezzo and on the stage sang mezzo roles.

While the interview was fascinating, it is such a shame that most of the main part of her career was skipped over. Clearly not all the conductors she loved working with could be listed, but surely her admiration for and the work she did with Sir Alexander Gibson ought to have been included. After all her opera performances included such stunning work as her Dorabella – a role no one at the time thought was right for such a ‘serious’ artist apart from Gibson – in Anthony Besch’s legendary Cosi, her Octavian and especially her extraordinary Dido in The Trojans, all were for Scottish Opera and all were with Gibson. Only her Scottish Opera Composer in Ariadne was with Norman Del Mar. Interestingly she never sang these roles with any other companies. Yes, she did take over a Trojans as a last minute replacement at the ROH but she sang it in English while the rest of the cast sang in French. These Scottish performances were a key part of her amazing career.