Leontyne Price

Leontyne Price ( born February 10, 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi; actually Mary Violet Leontyne Price ) is an American opera and concert singer (soprano ). She was the first " black diva " in the international concert and opera scene.

Biography

Born in the southern United States, the musical education of Leontyne Price began very early. She took piano lessons and sang in the St. Paul Methodist Church in Laurel. Later she studied music education at the College of Educational and Industrial Arts in Wilberforce. After graduating, she went to New York and was accepted at the famous Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she studied voice with Florence Ward Kimball. Your first opera role was that Mistress Ford in Verdi's Falstaff in a high school production.

Later, a commitment was followed in a Broadway production of Porgy and Bess, with whom she toured in 1952 by the world. Your partner William Warfield ( † 26 August 2002), who sang the Porgy, was also briefly her husband. They separated again in 1967, but the marriage was divorced in 1973.

In the 1950s, Leontyne Price, a number of appearances on opera and concert stages and on television in the United States had. Her international breakthrough came in Europe: In 1958, she made ​​her debut as Aida at the Vienna State Opera, a year later at Covent Garden London. As the first black she sang on 21 May 1960 La Scala a major role ( Aida ) and in the same year at the Salzburg Festival. A long-standing collaboration with Herbert von Karajan began.

In 1961 she celebrated at the New York Metropolitan Opera with her ​​debut as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore a great success and received a standing ovation 42 minutes. From then on, she counted more than 20 years to the most important singers of the house. Best known for her interpretation of Aida, with which they also celebrated their 1985 farewell to the stage.

The repertoire of the Price including numerous concert games except the great Mozart and Verdi roles. Among many other awards, she received 15 Grammy Awards for her album-releases.

After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 Leontyne Price entered at Carnegie Hall one last time in a charity concert. She lives in New York's Greenwich Village.