A much-loved English mezzo-soprano of the later 20th century, Sarah Walker, born in Cheltenham in 1943, was known for a big personality and versatile approach that took in everything from Monteverdi to Wagner, but perhaps excelled in French repertoire. After a false (though musically useful) start studying violin, she made her debut with Kent Opera in 1969, launching a stage career based largely in Britain but extending to New York, Chicago and Vienna. Her voice could be (at will) voluptuous, imperious or refined, suited to tragic queens like Elizabeth in Gloriana or Dido in Les Troyens. But a robust sense of fun also steered her toward Baba the Turk in Rake’s Progress or Katisha in Mikado. And she made memorable contributions to the culture/couture of the Last Night of the Proms, wearing outrageous frocks that set a precedent for soloists ever after. More seriously, she was a star recitalist at Wigmore Hall; but even there her fame encompassed wickedly amusing encores, which she then collectively recorded with pianist Roger Vignoles.