Leontyne Price possessed one of the most glorious vocal instruments of the Twentieth Century. Her management and preservation of her voice and career was brilliant. She knew which roles to sing and which roles to leave alone. She actually was very frugal in the numbers of performances she sang at the Met, and sang at Covent Garden, Salzburg, Chicago, and San Francisco as well. She excelled on the concert and recital stage, which eventually came to outnumber her opera stage appearances. She made an awful lot of money by following this pattern, and she continued to sing a good decade AFTER her retirement from the Met in January of 1985. She was as smart as a whip and she remained a beacon in classical vocal music for forty years. She was one of those very fortunate sopranos whose high voice remained clear and beautiful for the duration of her career. She stands as a national treasure.
Don't forget Vienna, in a big way, from 1958-64. Also Verona,1958 and 1959. Berlin, 1964. Rome, 1966. Paris, 1968. Benos Aires, 1969, and Hamburg 1970 and 1972. And those are just the world cities where she sang in opera.
Miss Price was/is brilliant. All through her career she remained true to herself. Everything she sang she made her own. Those who loved her, loved her. Those who didn't, didn't.
Thank you so much for sharing this brilliance.
Leontyne Price possessed one of the most glorious vocal instruments of the Twentieth Century. Her management and preservation of her voice and career was brilliant. She knew which roles to sing and which roles to leave alone. She actually was very frugal in the numbers of performances she sang at the Met, and sang at Covent Garden, Salzburg, Chicago, and San Francisco as well. She excelled on the concert and recital stage, which eventually came to outnumber her opera stage appearances. She made an awful lot of money by following this pattern, and she continued to sing a good decade AFTER her retirement from the Met in January of 1985. She was as smart as a whip and she remained a beacon in classical vocal music for forty years. She was one of those very fortunate sopranos whose high voice remained clear and beautiful for the duration of her career. She stands as a national treasure.
Don't forget Vienna, in a big way, from 1958-64. Also Verona,1958 and 1959. Berlin, 1964. Rome, 1966. Paris, 1968. Benos Aires, 1969, and Hamburg 1970 and 1972. And those are just the world cities where she sang in opera.
what an incredible - intelligent and eloquent woman
Awesome, I love this!!!
Miss Price was/is brilliant. All through her career she remained true to herself. Everything she sang she made her own. Those who loved her, loved her. Those who didn't, didn't.
Very nice interview.