Jessye Norman; "Die Nacht"; Richard Strauss

This channel is the re-establishment of previous channels that have been sadly terminated.
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Jessye Norman--soprano
Geoffrey Parsons---piano
1985
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"Born: September 15, 1945 - Augusta, Georgia, USA
Died: September 30, 2019 - New York City, New York, USA

The exceptionally gifted black American soprano, Jessye Norman, received in 1961 a scholarship to study at Howard Univversity in Washington, D.C., where she had vocal lessons from Carolyn Grant. She continued her training at the peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and at the University of Michigan, where her principal teachers were Pierre Bernac and Elizabeth Mannion. In 1968 She won the Munich Competition.

Jessye Norman made her operatic debut in 1969 as Elisabeth in Tannbauser at the Berlin Deutsche Oper. She appeared in the title role of L'Africaine at Florence's Maggio Musicale in 1971, and the following year sang Aida at Milan's La Scala and Cassandra in Les Troyens at London's Covent Garden. Subsequently she made in 1973 major recital debuts in London and New York. After an extensive concert tour of North America during 1976-1977, she made her USA stage debut as Jocasta in Oedipus rex and as Purcell's Dido on a double bill with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in November 1982. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Cassandra in September 1983 (or Les Troyens of Berlioz, which opened the company’s 100th anniversary season in 1983). Numerous operatic appearances at the Metropolitan Opera followed, the most recent of these was her celebrated portrayal of the title character in the Met’s premier production of Janacek’s The Makropulos Case in 1996.


This rich history continued to be made as Jessye Norman brought her sumptuous sound and spontaneous passion to recital performances, operatic portrayals, and appearances with symphony orchestras and chamber music collaborators, to the delight of listeners worldwide. Her extraordinary repertory ranges from Purcell to Richard Rodgers. She sings a widely varied operatic repertoire, having appeared at La Scala, Milan; the Teatro Communale, Florence; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Stuttgart Opera, Vienna, and Hamburg State Operas; Opera Company of Philadelphia; The Lyric Opera of Chicago; Aix-en-Provence Festival; and the Salzburg Festival. She commended herself in Mussorgsky's songs, which she performed in Moscow in the original Russian.
The vocal phenomenon that is Jessye Norman has long been acknowledged as possessing one of the world’s most beautiful voices. The sheer size, power, and luster of her voice share equal acclaim with that for her thoughtful, provocative music-making, prompting one writer to observe that "her vocal phrasing moves beyond mere seamlessness to convey a more ardent, spontaneous passion." Often cited for her innovative programming and fervent advocacy of contemporary music, she earned the recognition of another writer who describes her as "one of those once –in-a-generation singers who isn’t simply following in the footsteps of others, but is staking out her own niche in the history of singing."

In December 1997, Jessye Norman was invested with the USA's highest award in the performing arts, the Kennedy Center Honro, making history as the youngest recipient in the Honors’ 20-year existence. Her many other prestigious awards and distinctions include honorary doctorates at the some thirty colleges, universities and conservatories around the world. In 1984 the French Government bestowed upon her the title "Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris named an orchid for her. In October 1989 she was awarded the "Legion d’Honneur" by French President Mitterand, and in June 1990 she was named Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations by U.N. Secretary Xavier Perez de Cueller.

Jessye Norman’s distinguished catalogue of recordings won numerous awards, including France’s "Grand Prix National du Disque" for albums of Lieder by Wagner, Robert Schumann, Gustav Mahler and Schubert; London’s prestigious Gramophone Award for her outstanding interpretation of Strauss’ Four Last Songs; Amsterdam’s Edison Prize; and recording honors in Belgium, Spain, and Germany. In the USA, her Grammy Award winning recording includes "Songs of Maurice Ravel," and Wagner’s Lohengrin and Die Walküre.
Jessye Norman died on September 30, 2019 in New York. She was 74. The cause was septic shock and multiple organ failure following complications of a spinal cord injury she suffered in 2015."; bach-cantatas.com (edited)