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Lisa Lee Dark (born 16 April 1981 in Swansea, Wales), is a Welsh singer and voice actress.
Early life
Dark was born in Clydach, one of the Swansea valleys. She is related to Adelina Patti (1843-1919) and Bette Davis (1908-1989) Dark was born with a rare inter-sex medical condition called Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). This meant that throughout Dark’s childhood she was raised as a boy because doctors failed to realise that she was biologically female.
The condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), leads to an excessive outpouring of the male hormone testosterone during the early part of foetal life While the genes are thoroughly xx female, an inherited faulty gene blocks production of an essential enzyme. The deficiency leads to upsets in the body’s hormonal balance and causes the adrenal glands to produce low levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. In response, the pituitary (the body’s conductor gland) pushes the adrenals into top gear to make more cortisol, because of the enzyme deficiency, they secrete more and more testosterone and in the most severe cases, like Lisa Lee’s, the hormone leads to fusion of the female genitalia and in some an enlarged clitoris, making it quite easy to mistake newborn girls for boys, though ovaries and womb remain intact, making it possible for Lisa Lee to have children of her own.
Dark only discovered that she was biologically female at the age of 19. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a disorder that affects one in 15,000 births world wide, with varying degrees of masculinisation.
Dark was very badly bullied during her school years. She went to a tough all boys comprehensive school where she would regularly get kicked, punched, spat at and have obscene things screamed at her, even outside school she would get the same treatment, all because she was slightly different and didn’t behave like all the other boys.
Dark’s home life wasn’t much better, her parents had drink and money problems, they told Lisa Lee that she was the least important thing to them and that they wished that she was dead, there was also a lot of violence in the home, so Dark would walk the streets to get away from the troubles, but this made her easy prey for a paedophile ring; the sexual abuse that Dark experienced made her realise that she wasn’t a normal male, but growing up all she wanted was to die. Dark believes that this is what pushed her into the entertainment industry.
Acting career
Dark first starred in a European advert due to a case of mistaken identity. Her other acting roles have been voice over work on low budget European horror movies, and minor voice over work on five Hollywood movies . Due to fears of prejudice Dark’s agents thought that it would be best to use fictitious names instead of using Dark’s real name on the film credits.
Music career
The beginning
Aged six, Dark was approached in her local park by a record producer, who offered to take her into the recording studio to record her voice. Dark refused for three years because she was too shy, but by the age of nine she finally agreed to begin recording for him. Originally recording classical pieces of music for TV film and compilation albums, in 1992 by accident Dark began to record dance music. This brought Dark lots of success as she has sung on dance records that have gone on to sell over ten million copies world wide. Dark has also sung lead vocals for the new age, Christian classical crossover group"New Era".
Solo music career
In 1998 Dark signed her first solo recording contract, releasing the album ‘The unknown story of Lisa Lee Dark’. There were three more dance albums released, achieving moderate success with sales of 160,000 records for the dance record label VIP international records
In 2004, Dark released her fifth studio album titled "Breath of life". This would mark Dark’s first attempt into the classical crossover music market as a solo artist, but due to problems out of Dark’s control this album turned out to be a huge flop.
The come back
In 2008, Dark returned to the music industry with the release of her debut opera album, "Sola, perduta, abbandonata". This album contains Dark’s debut opera performance in Puccini’s opera Turandot, playing the part of Liu. A limited edition second album "The screen behind the mirror" was also released, containing Dark’s debut opera recordings and her audition for the opera company that she is signed to
References
- (Wales on Sunday newspaper, July 11, 1999)
- "Sopranos triumph over adversity recorded in new solo album". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- (Bella magazine, August 21, 2001)
- (Real magazine, September 9, 2003)
- "BBC Radio 4 - Changing Sex". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- "Website will help air rare conditions". 26 May 2000. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- (The Times newspaper, November 20, 2004)
- "Highs and lows". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- (Now magazine, June14, 2000)
- (The Universe newspaper, May 28, 2000)
- (The Daily Telegraph newspaper, April 25, 2000)
- (The Western Mail newspaper, September 13, 2004)
- Daniel Davies (Sep 13 2004). "Lisa-Lee album launch". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - (More magazine, May12, 2004)
- (The Mirror newspaper, May 8, 2000)
- (Golwg Welsh language magazine, September, 2004)
- (Life magazine, April, 2008)
- (The Universe newspaper, November 26, 2000)
- (The Mind magazine, July,2007)
- (South Wales Guardian newspaper, March 8, 2001)
- (The Catholic Herald newspaper, October 29, 2004)
- (Carmarthen Journal newspaper, January 22, 2003)
- (Messenger of Saint Anthony, October, 2005)
- "God and I". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- (Cornish Guardian newspaper, September 23, 2004)
- (News of the world Sunday magazine, December 12, 2004)
- (South Wales Evening post, October 4, 2004)
- (Carmarthen Journal newspaper, January 24, 2001)
- (Church of England newspaper, November 19, 2004)
- Davies, Daniel (Sep 13 2004). "Lisa-Lee album launch". The Western Mail. walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - (The Opera magazine,October,2007)
- (Euro news magazine, January,2008)