Walker's operatic debut was in 1969, as Ottavia in
Kent Opera's production of ''
L'incoronazione di Poppea''. She has also appeared in Britain with
Glyndebourne Festival Opera,
The Royal Opera,
English National Opera,
Scottish Opera, and abroad at The
Metropolitan Opera (
New York City),
Lyric Opera of Chicago,
San Francisco Opera,
La Monnaie (
Brussels) and the
Vienna State Opera. Notable roles have included the title-roles in
Gloriana and
Maria Stuarda, Dido in
Les Troyens and Baba the Turk in ''
The Rake's Progress. She recorded the challenging Voices'' under the direction of its composer,
Hans Werner Henze, in 1978. In 1989, Walker, along with
June Anderson (Coloratura Soprano),
Klaus König (tenor), and
Jan-Hendrik Rootering (bass-baritone), under the baton of
Leonard Bernstein, gave a performance of
Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The performance, at Christmas, marked the fall earlier that year of the
Berlin Wall. These four soloists were accompanied by a massive choir and orchestra made up of many nationalities: from Germany, the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Chorus of the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and members of the
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden; from the Soviet Union, members of the Orchestra of the
Kirov Theatre, from the United Kingdom, members of the
London Symphony Orchestra; from the USA, members of the
New York Philharmonic, and from France, members of the
Opéra de Paris. ==Rule Britannia 1985==