Soprano Kathleen Battle returns to the Met Opera on May 12 after 30 years

NEW YORK (AP) Soprano Kathleen Battle is returning to the Metropolitan Opera for a recital three many years after the company fired her and publicly accused her of “unprofessional actions” following a verbal confrontation.

The 75-year-old will perform there on May 12 and it would be her second appearance since her dismissal in 1994.

Battle might be accompanied by harpist Bridget Kibbey and guitarist Chico Pinheiro in a program of Purcell, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Fauré, Villa-Lobos, Rodrigo and chosen spirits.

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In 1977, Battle made her Met debut and have become a favourite of music director James Levine. Years later, she walked off stage during rehearsals in 1993 after an argument with conductor Christian Thielemann over tempo and canceled five scheduled appearances as Sophie in Richard Strauss’s “Der Rose.”

Joseph Volpe, then general manager of the Met, announced in February 1994 that the company had terminated her contract with Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment” (The Daughter of the Regiment), stating that the performer’s actions “were deeply detrimental to the artistic collaboration between all cast members.” “

Volpe’s successor, Peter Gelb, invited Battle to give a recital in November 2016 titled “The Underground Railroad – A Spiritual Journey.”