One of the greatest voices of all time
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| The Diva |
was born in Laurel,
Mississippi on February 10, 1927. Of course I’m not talking about Beyoncé or
Whitney Houston or Natalie Cole; I’m not even talking about Pearl Bailey, Della
Reese, or Josephine Baker either. I’m speaking of someone that a lot of young
people today have probably never heard of. They know nothing of the genre of music she
performs, and would never recognize one of her pieces. I’m talking about the
great operatic diva, Leontyne Price.
Born Mary Violet Leontyne Price to a carpenter and a
midwife, she began formal music training at age 5, and like most African
American singers of her day much of her time was spent singing in the choir of
her hometown church.
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| Leontyne Price |
At the age of 25 Leontyne Price debuted on Broadway, where
she had a short run as St. Cecelia in Thompsen’s Four Saints in Three Acts. For the following two years she stunned
audiences while touring with George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. During the
production’s tour she married her co-star William Warfield, who played Porgy.
From 1952 to 1960 Leontyne Price starred in a string of TV
operas, debuted at the San Francisco Opera House in the role of Madame Lidoine
in Dialogues des carme’lites and
toured Europe performing in places such as Covent Garden and La Scala.
On January 27, 1961 she debuted at the New York City's
Metropolitan Opera House as Leonora in Il Trovatore. This was such a momentous occasion that it
was the beginning of her time as a prima donna at the Met.
Leontyne Price is
the first black singer to be an international opera star. She earned many
awards, among them more than a dozen Grammys.
At the age of 87,
Leontyne Price doesn’t sing much anymore, but she is still around to remind
us of the many doors she opened for the women of color who came
after her.
Leontyne Price. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 05:10, Jan 27, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/leontyne-price-9446930.
