Mary Violet Leontyne Price (/liˈɒntiːn,ˈliːəntiːn/lee-ON-teen, LEE-ən-teen; born February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African American soprano to receive international acclaim.[1] From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. She regularly appeared at the world's major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala; at La Scala, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role.[2] She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Verdi's Aida.[1]
Born in Laurel, Mississippi, Price attended Central State University and then the Juilliard School (graduating cum laude), where she had her operatic debut as Mistress Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff. Having heard the performance, Virgil Thomson engaged her in Four Saints in Three Acts, prior to embarking on her debut tour; she also starred (alongside her husband William Warfield) in a successful revival of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Numerous concert performances followed, including a recital at the Library of Congress with composer Samuel Barber on piano. Her 1955 televised performance of Puccini’s Tosca, plus appearances at the San Francisco Opera as Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites and Aida, brought her to international attention. She went on to sing at many of the world's major opera houses with Aida, before her successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) in 1961, as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore. Continuing her career there, she starred in a multitude of operas for 20 years, securing her place among the leading performers of the century. One of these works was Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which she starred in for its world premiere. She made her farewell opera performance at the Met in 1985 in Aida.[3]
A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, her musical interpretations were subtle but often overshadowed her acting.[3] She was noted for her roles in operas by Mozart and Puccini, as well as playing Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare and Poppea in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. However, the "middle period" operas of Giuseppe Verdi remain her greatest triumph; Aida, the Leonoras of Il trovatore and La forza del destino, as well as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Her performances in these works, as well as Mozart and Puccini's operas, survive in her many recordings.
After her retirement from opera, Price continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts until 1997. After that, she would come out of retirement to sing at special events, including a memorial concert for victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at Carnegie Hall, in 2001. Among her many honors and awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, in addition to her 13 Grammy Awards.[4][2]
^ abOxford African American Studies Center 2006.
^ abWQXR-FM 2018.
^ abBlyth 2009.
^"Leontyne Price". www.grammy.com. Recording Academy. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
Mary Violet LeontynePrice (/liˈɒntiːn, ˈliːəntiːn/ lee-ON-teen, LEE-ən-teen; born February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African...
of Cissy Houston, and a first cousin of singers Whitney Houston and LeontynePrice. Warwick was born in East Orange, New Jersey, to Mancel Warrick (1911–1977)...
Vladimir Horowitz, Eleanor Steber, Raya Garbousova, John Browning, LeontynePrice, Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. While...
singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and a cousin of opera singer LeontynePrice. Houston was the grandmother of Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi...
mother's cousins were singers Dee Dee Warwick, Dionne Warwick, and LeontynePrice. Brown's uncle was former professional basketball player Gary Garland...
February 10, 1953. This production's original cast featured Americans LeontynePrice as Bess, William Warfield as Porgy, and Cab Calloway as Sportin' Life...
Cliburn to Recording Registry|WQXR Blog|WQXR "LeontynePrice and A Program of Song". WNYC. LeontynePrice – A Program of Song – RCA – Presto Music "2013...
James Levine (conductor), Marilyn Horne, LeontynePrice & the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for LeontynePrice & Marilyn Horne in Concert at the Met Best...
to family lore, her father Sylvester predicted her to be "the next LeontynePrice" when she was born. Blue earned a Bachelor of Music from the University...
2016), Antônio Carlos Jobim (1965, 2012), Led Zeppelin, (1970, 2005), LeontynePrice (1961, 1989), and John Prine (1972, 2020). From 1995 to 2021, members...
Raitt at Grammys Robert Woods at Grammys Taylor Hawkins at Grammys LeontynePrice at Grammys Ella Fitgerald at Grammys T Bone Burnett at Grammys Willie...
Clark, Peter. "LeontynePrice: A Legendary Met Career". The Metropolitan Opera. Retrieved January 10, 2023. Huizenga, Tom. "LeontynePrice At 90: The Voice...
2019) Jaroslav Pelikan (d. 2006) Itzhak Perlman Colin Powell (d. 2021) LeontynePrice Tito Puente (d. 2000) Sally K. Ride (d. 2012) Cal Ripken Cokie Roberts...
Opera to stage dances for a new production of Aida, starring soprano LeontynePrice. In 1963, she became the first African American to choreograph for the...
Symphony No. 1 in D Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance LeontynePrice for LeontynePrice Sings Robert Schumann Best Opera Recording Richard Mohr (producer)...
husband, Leonard Bernstein, conducting the New York Philharmonic and LeontynePrice in the role of Margaret. Bernstein wrote the narration for his Symphony...
and Patricia McBride, the pianist Vladimir Horowitz, the opera singer LeontynePrice, the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and the guitarist Andres Segovia...
autobiography, My Life, as I See It, Warwick notes that opera diva LeontynePrice is a maternal cousin. Studio albums Presenting Dionne Warwick (1963)...
Performance Zubin Mehta (conductor), LeontynePrice & the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for Verdi: Arias (LeontynePrice Sings Verdi) Best Opera Recording...
Astaire, Pablo Casals, Dizzy Gillespie, Jascha Heifetz, Lena Horne, LeontynePrice, Bessie Smith, Art Tatum, Sarah Vaughan 1990 Nat King Cole, Miles Davis...
school integration. Nationally known musicians and artists, including LeontynePrice, Brook Benton and Langston Hughes, have performed in the auditorium...
Leonard Bernstein, James Cagney, Agnes de Mille, Lynn Fontanne, and LeontynePrice 1981 – Count Basie, Cary Grant, Helen Hayes, Jerome Robbins, and Rudolf...
received their premiere in 1953 at the Library of Congress, with soprano LeontynePrice and Barber himself as pianist. The ten songs of the cycle and the respective...
Birgit Nilsson Jessye Norman Anne Sofie von Otter Luciano Pavarotti LeontynePrice Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Joan Sutherland Renata Tebaldi Kiri Te Kanawa...
American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR). Bernstein was joined by LeontynePrice, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, and Yo-Yo Ma, among others. On November...
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