Jessye Norman (September 15, – September 30, )
Jessye Norman, one of the world’s most celebrated performing artists, was acclaimed for her performances in wide range of leading roles with the world’s premier opera companies, in solo recitals and in concerts of her cherished classical repertoire with preeminent orchestras all over the globe, as well as her latest artistic expansion with her jazz ensemble and the extensive programming of music from the American musical theater, which she entitled: AMERICAN MASTERS. She was the recipient of many awards and accolades, including forty honorary doctorate degrees from colleges, universities, and conservatories around the world, five Grammy awards including the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, the National Medal of the Arts received at the White House from President Obama in , and was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. In France, an orchid was named for her by the National Museum of Natural History. She was a Commandeur de L’Orde des Arts et des Lettres and was an Officier of the Legion Francaise. Her community service included trustee board memberships at The New York Public Library, Carnegie Hall, The Dance Theatre of
Norman, Jessye –
Opera and concert singer
At a Glance&#x;
Gained International Acclaim Early in Career
Took Temporary Leave of Opera
Inspired Lavish Ovations
Selected discography
Sources
American soprano Jessye Norman is hailed as one of the world&#x;s greatest opera and concert singers and performers. Since the early s she has starred at leading opera houses, concert halls, and music festivals throughout Europe, North America, and three other continents. She has also enjoyed a prolific recording career with over 40 albums and several Grammy Awards to her credit and is even recognized as the inspiration for the title character in the French film Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.
Norman&#x;s voice has been resoundingly praised for its mastery of expression, technical control, and sheer power, while her diverse song repertoire spans standard and obscure operas to German lieder (classical songs), avant-garde works, and even popular ballads. As a performer, she is known for her magnetic and dramatic personality, and, with her imposing physical presence, cuts an impressive figure before audiences. According. to Curt Sanburn in Life, Norman on stage creates the p
Jessye Norman
How did you first discover your voice, and find out you could become a singer?
Jessye Norman: My parents told me that I started singing at the same time that I started speaking. So I have absolutely no memory of not singing, and it was — and remains, thank goodness! — a very natural thing for me to do, because I&#;ve always done it. I was in the children&#;s choir at the church, and the choir at the school in first grade, and all the rest of it. And it wasn&#;t that I had such an interesting voice, it was just a very loud voice, and so for a five-year-old or a six-year-old, I could always sing on my own and be heard, you see, so that was the interesting part of that time. I hope that things have changed over time.
When did you first sing in public?
Jessye Norman: The first time I recall singing in public I was in the second grade. I&#;m sure that I sang in church before that, but I don&#;t really have a memory of that. But I remember being in second grade and the school — it was a huge school in the segregated South, at least 1, kids in school from first grade to eighth grade at the time — and every Friday the school would all come together in the auditoriu
Jessye Norman
Described as a &#;force of nature&#; by admiring critics, Jessye Norman was among the most celebrated sopranos of the late twentieth century. Norman&#;s uncommon range and commanding presence earned her a devoted following and numerous awards, including the Kennedy Center Honor and the National Medal of Arts.
Norman was born in Augusta on September 15, , to Janie King and Silas Norman. Her mother, a homemaker and teacher, played piano, and her father, an insurance broker, was a soloist at their church, Mount Calvary Baptist. As a child Norman sang at various civic events and with church and school choirs. She listened to radio broadcasts of New York&#;s Metropolitan Opera and to recordings of the classical artists Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, whom she regarded as role models, as well as to jazz vocalists Dinah Washington and Billie Holliday. At sixteen she won a full scholarship to Howard University in Washington, D.C., and later graduated cum laude. She continued her studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the University of Michigan.
In Norman won the female vocal division of the International Music Competition of the Ge
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