When she sings, it has been said even the angels stop to listen. But don’t call the diva of opera an angel. Ms. Battle will do.

The five-time Grammy winner Kathleen Battle will perform Friday night at Stephens Auditorium turning the angels on their ears.

With a stage repertoire spanning the centuries from Handel (Cleopatra in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1988-89 premiere staging of Giulio Cesare) to Richard Strauss, Battle is equally at home performing Mozart’s Susanna in “Le nozze di Figaro” as she is in the bel canto operas of Rossini and Donizetti.

A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle learned to sing, play piano and read music from her family. She was a promising student who excelled at math, music and, between lessons at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, she taught music to inner-city youths.

Making her professional debut at the Spoleto Festival in Brahms’ “Ein deutsches Requiem” under the direction of Thomas Schippers, Battles’ debut with the Metropolitan Opera came only five years later.

Battles’ natural talent and beauty made her a crowd favorite and fast-rising star. But in February 1994, Battle was fired from the Met’s production of “The Daughter of the Regiment” amid reports that her “prima donna” personality was “obnoxious to colleagues.”

When the Met announced her dismissal, it simply referred to “unprofessional actions.” Others weren’t so willing to let her off the hook so easily. Vanity Fair magazine described her as “arguably the most hated person in the music business.”

What is rarely disputed, though, is the pristine sound the soprano emits.

Praised by critics and audiences alike for her assured musicality, flawless taste and beauty of tone, Will Crutchfield of the New York Times said, “She forms each note as though desiring to add to the sum of beauty in the world.”

Just some of the “beauty” Battle and pianist J.J. Penna will add to the globe Friday is Handel’s “Tornami a vagheggiar,” “Heimliche Aufforderung” and “Die Nacht” from Strauss and some spirituals among other works.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $14, $17 and $20 for Iowa State students. They may be purchased at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or call 233-1888 to charge by phone.