Leontyne Price: Spiritual Soprano
The first African-American opera singer to achieve international acclaim, this musician built a stunning reputation in her arena.
Born in Mississippi in February 1927, Leontyne Price began music lessons from a young age, regularly singing at the local Methodist Church where her grandfather had been minister.
After studying at music school, the young singer was offered a full scholarship to study at New York’s Juilliard School, where she was honoured with leading roles in the institution’s renowned operas.
In 1952, Price debuted on Broadway, dazzling audiences and leading to her being cast in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Price’s portrayal and interpretation of Bess wowed the crowd — as well as Porgy co-star William Warfield, whom she later married.
“I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me.” — Leontyne Price
After a run of successful TV operas, the soprano made her first operatic stage debut in 1957 at the San Francisco Opera House where she sang Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des carmélites. This performance was another huge success and marked the start of her entrance into serious operatic society.
Only a year later, Price was singing in London’s Convent Garden and Milan’s La Scala, the rising star now receiving acclaim both at home and abroad. In the 1970s, Leontyne Price was able to be more particular about the roles she took on, preferring recitals rather than large opera productions.
Singing the role of Aida one last time at the Metropolitan Opera, Price bid farewell to the opera circuit in 1985 after a wonderful career in which she beat the odds to establish a staggering career.
Verdi’s Aida is a role that is undeniably linked to Leontyne Price who has been the one and only Aida of the Metropolitan opera for many years.
Leontyne Price has recorded many arias from operas she never actually sang on stage, and Puccini’s ‘La rondine’ is one such example. On hearing Leontyne Price singing Magda’s beautiful aria from the first act, the listener can only wish that she had taken to the stage to sing this piece.
Samuel Barber: Hermit Songs, Op. 29 (Leontyne Price (soprano), Samuel Barber (piano), 1954)
This recording of Barber’s ‘Hermit Songs’ is noteworthy in several respects: it was part of Leontyne Price’s debut plus the composer himself accompanies her in this recording. These factors combine to make a truly authentic performance.
In her many Lieder recitals, Leontyne Price always included works by Brahms, Wolf, Strauss, to name but a few, and she also recorded several of them. You will find a collection of French and German lieder in our update this week.
Leontyne Price had a strong connection to the tradition of spiritual music and sang selected pieces in concert as well as recording several albums of the genre. We have added a number of them this week.
