This has been a great masterclass on how you can respond when people try to press you, defy you or make you feel uncomfortable with tricky questions and non sense statements . She always responded assertively with class and charm. Love her.
@@redwoods7370 What are you talking about and where are you coming from? Don't you realize that Jessye came Augusta, Georgia. Her accent is acquired. And what the hell is wrong with that? Are you some kind of an idiot?
@@Siegfried5846The reason for that is because many of the great composers were white Europeans who arranged, composed for the people they saw primarily which as you may guess were white. There were not any black Operas written in music history during the various time periods…Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and so forth. Thank God for George and Ira Gershwin who wrote Porgy and Bess. Opera singers have to sing roles that fit their vocal type. For example Jesse Norman would sing roles for a dramatic soprano not a coloratura soprano. It matters not the race of the singer, but the voice and the range.
Ms. Norman was remarkably sophisticated. She had extraordinary confidence and loved herself inside and out because she recognized her God given talents and shared them with the world unashamedly .Brilliant Lady!
She was BRILLIANT. That interviewer didn’t deserve her presence and wisdom. She was giving a lecture on human kind but he didn’t let her finish. ...he even doubted if she was fluent in several languages. I wonder if he‘d have doubt the same if the guest was white. Long life to your soul, Jessye Norman. Blessings and good return.
He was very condescending in the way he was asking her about her race as it pertains to singing Opera instead of Jazz, RnB, Pop or Gospel music. Just because she was a Black Woman does not mean all she could perform are those genres of music. He was trying to insinuate this.
Her finest moment in this entire interview was at 15:35 when she called him "Darling," thereby discounting all of his arrogance, stupidity and his inability to listen to one of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
24:17 the interviewer kept hitting o race and gender . One of the greatest opera singers ! We have heard this before ad nauseum. Talk about her ! Her voice, her career !! Her magnificent personality ! This guy was irritating ! Yet Miss Norman behaved like the queen she is ! A silken beauty given to us .❤❤❤
Priceless talent, voice and personality. I spent a Christmas eve in a restaurant she was dining and she got up and started singing Christmas carols with the pianist. That was absolutely fabulous and the true meaning of the season. A fascinating, elegant, sophisticated woman like we don't have too many anymore.
She was my first personal training client! Believe it or now, she found me on the Pennsysavers! I'm sure she only hired me because, being in the early nineties, there was no Google, and I had no idea of who she was. She was an amazing, funny, powerful woman, with a supernatural voice. Such a loss...
This guy wanted to keep reminding her of the segregation as if Jesseye forgot Anyway Thank you Queen Jessey for Your Amazing talent and mental fortitude Rest with ease and Love
5 ปีที่แล้ว +61
She makes him sound like He is lacking intelligence. She is brilliant.
@Andy JS Yes, you keep saying the same thing. I understand it is "hard talk", but it is his supercilious tone that many on this thread find offensive. Many except you, of course.
A great artist. Her Sieglinde was brilliant. Her Liebestod with Karajan was incredible. Her Brunnhilde with the New York Philharmonic was great. Her Les Troyens was terrific. She is a legend.
I had no idea that the wonderful Jessye Norman had passed away. I truly feel bereaved. Years ago when I was singing with the London Philharmonic Choir she came to record Brahms' German Requiem with us. I shall never forget the size and beauty of her voice soaring over us. Absolutely glorious!
Culture is universal she was part of that. Was fluent in several languages had great diction no attempt to sound “white” stop trying to put her into a pigeonhole.
It's obvious this reporter had an agenda but Ms. Norman wasn't having it. Such tact, confidence, intellect and poise in her presence. I bet she could've read him like a book, but she kept her dignity and saved his.
As well as her extraordinary singing voice, Ms Norman's speech was precise and free of any strong accent, and her grammar exemplary. Truly a pleasure to hear both. Ms Norman's death is a great loss.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn Exactly. To my (UK) ears, her accent has very strong native English elements and is essentially quite 'flat' (not tonally, of course!), with just an occasional hint of 'American'. Remember, though, that she spent many years in Europe (especially Germany). Having said that, however, Thomas Hampson also spent time in Germany (both singers being fluent German-speakers) yet retains an unmistakable US voice.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn research her history, and you'll know why. Check out her interviews in Germany or France. She speaks their native tongue like it's nothing.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn Oh by the way, she spoke four different languages fluently. It is okay that with that accumulation of linguistic skill, one could understand that her voice would incorporate various inflections. Sorry you cannot wrap your brain around that. I would say you sound like racist, but of course you are not!
Ok, Hard Talk was supposed to be challenging, and sometimes it failed.Two things I noticed particularly, "Pigeon Holes are only interesting for pigeons" And if Jessye Norman ever called you 'darling' you were in deep and abiding trouble.
The interviewer is to entertainment and intelligent conversation what paint stripper is to haute cuisine. What a fabulous, triumphant, sensible, joyous person Jessye Norman is here - and what a beautiful artist.
Subtext: “As a black person how did you force yourself to like a Caucasian art form...because be really honest you prefer Gershwin and American songbook standards to that Opera ish...right...I mean why didn’t you just sing the music you’re supposed to sing”. Literally one of the most insulting interviews I’ve ever had displeasure to watch. La Norman was a lady throughout.
As a child - I went to Opera with my mother. I saw a large woman of color play a 14 year old Japanese girl - and I believed it so much I cried and sobbed. When I was a teenager, I saw an almost 6 foot woman in her 50s play a young Spanish woman in her 20s. And I believed her, and I cried from the sheer beauty of her voice. Opera is the last bastion of talent. Age, size nor color of skin can stop talent. It's the Olympics of singing. Only a few can do it. And if their names are Martino Arroyo, or Leontyne Price, or Joan Sutherland, or Jessye Norman - and they don't fit some racist, ageist, elitist critic's idea of a character because of lack of imagination and appreciation of talent - then that's the critic's problem - not mine. Opera will always be a place of Olympian gods of the voice to me.
An absolutely marvellous singer and an iconic, majestic human being. When I sadly heard of her death I immediately listened to her performance of the Tristan und Isolde Liebestod; I will never stop listening to her.
"Tristan und Isolde Liebestod" is one of the most beautiful songs a composer has ever written and her voice raised it to Royalty. "Danke Schoen" Jesseye Norman, "Danke Schoen." RIP DJ
Just the fact that Jessye Norman was _on the stage_ in places where her race wasn’t represented in the orchestra, the cast, or the audience is _THE BIGGEST STATEMENT AGAINST RACISM SHE COULD HAVE MADE!!!_ And in the time since she began her professional career, there have been a large number of black singers who’ve had large to huge careers, and she definitely was an example to them and still can be now that she’s gone!
I met Ms Norman twice just by chance in a MAC Cosmetics store in Manhattan a little under 20 years ago. I just had to to let her know how much my mother and I admired her. She was approachable, polite, had a beautiful smile and lovely skin and was just a tiny bit haughty 😆 but who cares? Ms Norman had a great talent, a beautiful singing voice and she passionately gave herself to her craft in the classical opera genre. It was a pleasure to meet you Ms Norman all those years ago RIP
What you saw was not 'haughty'. It was supreme confidence in self, it was years of experience standing in your presence, she was secure in who she was and it was her blackness. Yes her blackness, remember that!
I didn't say that I had a problem with Ms Norman's haughtiness or her confidence though. Ms Norman wasn't rude to me, she wasn't impolite or condescending to me. I never said that I had a problem with her or her manner I'm just describing my chance meetings with her.
The other thing is that her speaking voice and manner may have come across as haughty but it was nott necessarily so - she had spent years honing a very dramatic craft where she switched between languages fluently and it definitely affected her demeanor and manner of speaking etc. May sound haughty and officious before one gets used to it and understands where it comes from.
Jessye was almost never haughty but elegant, graceful, classy, and has an almost musical speaking voice, she is incredibly intelligent that doesn’t make her haughty.
I love Jesse Norman. She was an Icon for not just opera . She lifted up all of our spirits and brougt so much culture to her and our hearts to live by. Why does your weight ever become a standard by which anyone should just close their eyes and just open their ears and listen
Oh how I will miss Jessye Norman. What a breath of fresh air, what a well spoken woman, what an outstanding performer, what a real person she is despite her accolades. RIP Jessye.
I just read her Wikipedia biography. She has a Master's in music and honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale, Julliard, Oxford, Cambridge and many more. All well-deserved.
I find myself smiling as she talks. She was so charming, witty, and warm, inviting, despite her regality. And yes, I too was just getting warmed up when I realised that 24 minutes so quickly flew.
I met her in 1979 after her concert at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. She and her entire program were brilliant; a highlight of this singer's undergraduate studies in Voice Performance. They held a "meet and greet" on stage immediately following her concert and I was fortunate to meet her, shake her hand and look into those huge, expressive eyes. A night I will never forget. Rest in peace, dear Jessye Norman. You live in all of us who sing.
He wanted her to rail against the USA and its stupid and horribly cruel racism, which we still suffer from (I am American and I can say this). And she could have done this but she didn't want to focus on that because she is a transcendent artist. She TRANSCENDED racism because art transcends racism and all human limited thinking. That is what the interview should have been about.
Love love love - can't say it enough - how much I loved Jessye Norman - always the picture of class and elegance. Such extraordinary talent and musicianship. Her performance in the Met Ring was galvanizing for me as a young singer.
American Blacks accomplishments and over achievements while facing brutal Government discrimination is beyond amazing. Special group of people they are
I have watched Hardtack many times and this is the first time I have seen the otherwise brilliant interviewer Stephen Sackur awed by the person he was interviewing. And the gift to us of that was he gave Jessye Norman the opportunity to display her humanity, wit, brilliance, dignity and the reminder of what a great soul she was.
@@girlmusician24 Not only rude, but his questions are quite silly. Very weird that he could not think of something more interesting and insightful to ask.
I just loved her. I had the privilege of being on stage with her at the MET in Ariadne auf Naxos. She was Ariadne and I was Echo, standing on that tall, rolling platform that looked down on her. Too bad I was so young at 23 and really did not understand what I was experiencing as a young artist. I love hee attitude, she did not take oppression into her being. It did not stop her.
BBC: YOU WERE OPPRESSED Jesse: The oppression was not in my mind. BBC: YOU WERE OPPRESSED Jessey: I never allowed myself to be oppressed. BBC: HOW DARE U LEAVE THE idealogical PLANTATION? Jessey: I never allowed myself to be definied by your toxicity.
@@peteradaniel There was nothing hard about the talk. It was however painful watching how this guy was only interested in her story from the perspective of identiy politics and while that might be a legitimate part of an interview the entire interview was used to go through a checklist of woke woes. Its this lack of balance is why people are disillusioned with these liars.
“Darling they might write it, but I don’t read it” she doesn’t need it !! what do you think she is going to start snapping her fingers in anger. JN is as graceful and fierce as her voice. Love her.
Jessye is incredibly educated. She has a Masters in music and honorary doctorates from some of the greatest English-speaking universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Julliard and many more. I normally don't respect honorary doctorates but based on this interview, they're well-deserved.
What a class act! The ignorant interviewer was no match for her responses..she was so far above his stupid questions. "Darling they may write it, but I don't read it." LOL. I love you Jessye. You will be greatly missed! RIP!!! BRAVA!!!
Flyinghow i totally agree with your posting but what is most poignant in that interview is the fact that the great Jesse Norman skillfully delineated what a bunch of free loading parasites most of so called critics are and at the end of the day they do not know squat!!!
He wants her to say that there were not opportunities for black people. It is incredibly! She was discipline, a hard worker, a great musician, an exceptional voice and a smart woman. That's why she succeeded.
syncletica saint I agree and I am mystified by some of the negative comments on here which I think say a lot more about posters than it does about this interview. I think Ms Norman summed it up at the end when told the interview was over, "I am just getting started", she clearly was enjoying herself and being allowed to express her deep felt opinions. A great artiste and a wonderful human being that is what I saw and heard.
Smart, humble and confident woman..she corrected that close minded interviewer who seemed to be puzzled as to why she didn't sing r&b or soul music coming from the 50s & 60s and focusing so much on race rather than her talent
I have only admiration and respect for Jessye Norman. She is the most beautiful person, with the most beautiful disposition, outlook, perspective, voice, musicality, artistry (including dramatic artistry) & fashion style. May she rest in peace. I think it is fantastic what Jessye Norman quotes Duke Ellington as saying, "There are only two types of music: good music and bad music." In sharing a personal experience over a period of years, I trained as a Classical Singer who was exposed to all genres of music before birth, but all of a sudden, as soon as I began writing and singing other genres, very ignorant people labelled me as only a Classical Singer. They did not offer any positive feedback or suggestions. They were highly ignorant people who were in the contemporary music camp and liked to put classically trained musicians in the opposing camp. The humorous thing was that I know more about contemporary music than all of them and play more instruments than all of them and have also studied CCM singing as well now. Bless their hearts! May those people one day crawl out from under their superficially ignorant rocks and be a little less negative and a bit more accepting and openminded. Then they might learn a thing or two as well. We can't help it if we can do it all!! And they need to stop feeling so insecure and defensive. So, I agree with Jessye Norman. Limiting art is not helpful. There are ONLY two types of music: good music and bad music. In regards to comments about what critics, et al express, it is not important and is irrelevant to her as a person. They are nothing to her. When somebody makes personal attacks at a Singer's performance and especially their body image, then that is just a cruel opinion which has only one place and that is in the silence zone. They are not helpful. Jessye Norman is absolutely 100% correct when stating that Opera can not be defined in terms of visual and auditory percentages and that Opera is not a form of snobbery. That is only the way that some people who may be ignorantly insecure interpret it to be. It is an artform. Art is boundless and it is inclusive and very openminded and accepting. It is to be appreciated and valued when it is produced as good music. Opera encompasses truly beautiful voices, strong technique with great agility. Particular voices are suited to particular arias and roles. An exceptional Opera Singer must understand and do their research regarding the character roles, story of the Opera, the libretti and the history of the libretti. If it is Faust for example, then one must understand Goethe's 'Faust' and research, research, research. You must research the original work, the other works inspired by Faust, the way other singers have sung your role, the way other actors have played the character theatrically. You must build up a sweat and immerse yourself. It's hard work, but gee whiz, isn't it worth it! In empathising with the character, one must immerse oneself without allowing the emotive content to overwhelm them. They must distance themselves in a very healthy and genuine manner. Expressiveness is relayed through the musicality, the expression of the libretti and through facial gestures, actions and acting. An Opera Singer is not on stage to be in a size zero costume for a fashion photograph. If a Designer has designed a costume in a particular size, well, they were talented enough to make it in one size and now they must make it in the correct size for the best person for the role. Get those sewing machines out. Opera singing requires immense levels of stamina, especially if we are discussing Wagner. The energy must come from somewhere. Opera Singers definitely look after their health, but they have no time to be marathon runners, because they are already working on their music for hours and hours and hours each day. It is all encompassing. They have to be the suitable person for the role, especially through their artistic and interpretative ability, combined with the timbre of their voice and linguistic command. They are not drinking copious amounts of coffee, limiting their water, eating one carrot a day and fasting for a fashion shoot as some models are expected to do for their roles in front of the camera. They are in the business of making the good music, as opposed to the bad music. In line with this comment by Jessye Norman regarding being able to speak languages which she sang in, it is important to truly understand the lyrical content of a song and to truly understand the correct word pronunciations. In my opinion, phonetics are of course helpful for pronunciation, but they will never give a true command of a language, nor the understanding of an Operatic role, especially when using conditional tenses, etc. Translations which you find alongside phonetic translations are not always correct and do not always give the whole true meaning of the aria and Operatic work as a whole. So, as Jessye Norman states, you have a duty as an Opera Singer to study languages intensively - immersing yourself. Having good diaphragmatic support is definitely not enough. In regards to the presenter, he did not seem to come across to me as rude, but distant, a little arrogant and wanting to control the situation. To some degree, controlling the presentation is expected. Jessye Norman's intelligent and well communicated knowledge sets the record straight on every occasion needed. After all, she is just amazing. I don't believe that Jessye Norman was annoyed with him, condemning him or trying to put him in his place necessarily. She was annoyed by the issues raised regarding limited perspectives espoused by what sound like extremely opinionated, yet ignorant people, who show no shame in expressing what they believe, which is actually completely incorrect and judgemental. Long live good Music and the beautiful voice, artist and person who was Jessye Norman. May she have paved the way for many more exceptionally talented humans, in a very aware and socially conscious way. Like the other supportive comments herein, I hold Jessye Norman in the highest esteem and am totally inspired by her as a person. With the deepest respect and admiration.
"I don't sing in a language I don't speak..." I love it. J'aime cela! I'm so proud of this phenomenal black woman. RIP Ms. Norman. You were a class act till the final curtain call.
"Well they might write it, but darling I don't read it"
What a legend 😅
That was a profound and great statement
Spoken by a true diva.
This has been a great masterclass on how you can respond when people try to press you, defy you or make you feel uncomfortable with tricky questions and non sense statements . She always responded assertively with class and charm. Love her.
She was amazing.
He better be thankful that the interview was over when Queen Jessye smiled and said "but I was just getting started"......
Walter, what a beautiful comment! You made this interview even more special.
The British have a compulsive need to feel superior to others. Give it up. You're not. And we all know that.
@@redwoods7370 What are you talking about and where are you coming from? Don't you realize that Jessye came Augusta, Georgia. Her accent is acquired. And what the hell is wrong with that? Are you some kind of an idiot?
She is absolutely brilliant. Class, charm, intellect, talent, humor, generosity, and honesty.
Absolutely And Brilliant yes and Beautiful and REGAl
She is a queen. She not only performs her art, but the way she carries herself, she is her art
But why should she play White roles?
@@Siegfried5846The
reason for that is because many of the great composers were white Europeans who arranged, composed for the people they saw primarily which as you may guess were white. There were not any black Operas written in music history during the various time periods…Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and so forth. Thank God for George and Ira Gershwin who wrote Porgy and Bess.
Opera singers have to sing roles that fit their vocal type. For example Jesse Norman would sing roles for a dramatic soprano not a coloratura soprano. It matters not the race of the singer, but the voice and the range.
@@sue.byrd3767 No, the race is very important for the immersion of the viewer.
Not only a queen. Miss Norman was, is and ever will be a goddess. Out of this world.
he is trying so hard to inject a narrative. He is not listening to her. She is the finest of an era.
It is sad how the press and the media are often more interested in a point of view rather than reporting the truth. 😢
DJ
@@tospubs960 It is pervasive. They don't tell us the news, they create it. Constant hyperbole and scare tactics.
@@jayhartbarger2793 A very apt response, Sir.
Thank you.
DJ
@Nina Hagen totally agree, Sackur never listens to the truth, and always focuses on two words in a sentence.
He's an Asshole with the biggest echo
Ms. Norman was remarkably sophisticated. She had extraordinary confidence and loved herself inside and out because she recognized her God given talents and shared them with the world unashamedly .Brilliant Lady!
Which god ?
David Thom everyone’s universal source
@@Ursaminor31 er, NO
@immeralles besserwisser because 'god' is factually, fictional.
@@davidthom7127 She wrote "God" not "god" . Go troll somewhere else.
She absolutely disarmed (I think, unintentionally) the BBC interviewer. Bravo, Jessye Norman!
She did it purposefully. She was being nice-nasty. It’s a trait that elderly black women learn throughout life to deal with dickheads like this man.
Well said.
It was intentional. She knew who she was dealing with.
Jessye Norman - what a wonderful human being.
Now I can bring myself to watch this after 6months of Jessye’s death. She was everything I loved in a human being. A dear friend. Rest darling.
She was BRILLIANT. That interviewer didn’t deserve her presence and wisdom. She was giving a lecture on human kind but he didn’t let her finish.
...he even doubted if she was fluent in several languages. I wonder if he‘d have doubt the same if the guest was white.
Long life to your soul, Jessye Norman. Blessings and good return.
My god you're full of predjudice !
Luckily she wasn't
@@sukrame5331 😆 you made me laugh
@@lkaes sukramE Is correct. You all need to get over yourselves. Miss Norman was very able to take care of herself.
He was very condescending in the way he was asking her about her race as it pertains to singing Opera instead of Jazz, RnB, Pop or Gospel music. Just because she was a Black Woman does not mean all she could perform are those genres of music. He was trying to insinuate this.
❤ this comment! Right! This snobby man is so small
Very intelligent and well articulated...she owned this interview despite the intentions of the interviewer
Her finest moment in this entire interview was at 15:35 when she called him "Darling," thereby discounting all of his arrogance, stupidity and his inability to listen to one of the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Rather than understanding her answers he’s constantly trying to bait her and she’s not taking it.
Amen
24:17 the interviewer kept hitting o race and gender . One of the greatest opera singers ! We have heard this before ad nauseum. Talk about her ! Her voice, her career !! Her magnificent personality ! This guy was irritating ! Yet Miss Norman behaved like the queen she is ! A silken beauty given to us .❤❤❤
I love hearing her speak
I’d pay to hear her read the phone book
When she speaks....she sings!
So true!
She had the voice of a Goddess but alas a mortal human frame. Her voice will live on.
She's in heaven giving singing lessons to the angels.
Beautifully stated‼️
She was absolutely beautiful.
when she laughed at the end you get a hint of the huge power of her singing voice! Unique
I love her and I’m so remarkably sad she’s gone 😭😭😭😭😭♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I agree
Priceless talent, voice and personality. I spent a Christmas eve in a restaurant she was dining and she got up and started singing Christmas carols with the pianist. That was absolutely fabulous and the true meaning of the season. A fascinating, elegant, sophisticated woman like we don't have too many anymore.
Wow, that must have been a wonderful experience!!
Oh my goodness! What a wonderful joyous moment!
She was my first personal training client! Believe it or now, she found me on the Pennsysavers! I'm sure she only hired me because, being in the early nineties, there was no Google, and I had no idea of who she was. She was an amazing, funny, powerful woman, with a supernatural voice. Such a loss...
That's awesome 👍🏿
I am so proud of Ms. Norman,she can hold her on in any interview.
What class, beauty, talent, sophistication, and intelligence!
Some people you can never imagine ever leaving us. Jessye Norman was one such person. I have always loved her, and I always will.
I love to hear her talking, not just singing. What an extraordinary woman!
This guy wanted to keep reminding her of the segregation as if Jesseye forgot Anyway Thank you Queen Jessey for Your Amazing talent and mental fortitude Rest with ease and Love
She makes him sound like He is lacking intelligence.
She is brilliant.
Should be required listening for ALL America. Listened to this interview many times over the years. First time commenting.
Can we get the interviewer to consider another career?
He probably can't do nothing else.
It's called Hard Talk for a reason.
@Andy JS Yes, you keep saying the same thing. I understand it is "hard talk", but it is his supercilious tone that many on this thread find offensive. Many except you, of course.
@@ajs41 "Hard Talk". Not "Ignorant Talk". Or "DIsmissive Talk".
A great artist. Her Sieglinde was brilliant. Her Liebestod with Karajan was incredible. Her Brunnhilde with the New York Philharmonic was great. Her Les Troyens was terrific. She is a legend.
The interviewer is a total "philistine!" He needs to do his homework and be prepared to interview this her. She is a very educated woman.
I think he was taken aback; he had his preconceived notions.
I appreciate her articulation and her confidence as much as I love her singing.
I had no idea that the wonderful Jessye Norman had passed away. I truly feel bereaved. Years ago when I was singing with the London Philharmonic Choir she came to record Brahms' German Requiem with us. I shall never forget the size and beauty of her voice soaring over us. Absolutely glorious!
Culture is universal she was part of that. Was fluent in several languages had great diction no attempt to sound “white” stop trying to put her into a pigeonhole.
Quoting the lady herself, “pigeonholes are for pigeons ... “
I love this...Jessye was a true pioneer and amazing black woman. Rest in heaven.
Rest? She is singing with Angels now
It's obvious this reporter had an agenda but Ms. Norman wasn't having it. Such tact, confidence, intellect and poise in her presence. I bet she could've read him like a book, but she kept her dignity and saved his.
I’m in awe. That was a wonderful way of answering everything. Absolutely charming and inspiring
As well as her extraordinary singing voice, Ms Norman's speech was precise and free of any strong accent, and her grammar exemplary. Truly a pleasure to hear both. Ms Norman's death is a great loss.
Why does Jessye speak with a European-esk accent if she is front Georgia? Nothing in her bio states her parents were immigrants from another country.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn Exactly. To my (UK) ears, her accent has very strong native English elements and is essentially quite 'flat' (not tonally, of course!), with just an occasional hint of 'American'. Remember, though, that she spent many years in Europe (especially Germany). Having said that, however, Thomas Hampson also spent time in Germany (both singers being fluent German-speakers) yet retains an unmistakable US voice.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn research her history, and you'll know why. Check out her interviews in Germany or France. She speaks their native tongue like it's nothing.
BamaFan1962 The more languages one learns, the more one’s own accent is smoothed over. It’s about clarity of communication.
@@BamaFan-vc4gn Oh by the way, she spoke four different languages fluently. It is okay that with that accumulation of linguistic skill, one could understand that her voice would incorporate various inflections. Sorry you cannot wrap your brain around that. I would say you sound like racist, but of course you are not!
A woman of extraordinary dignity, intelligence and humanity, also possessing one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. R. I. P.
I kept seeing all her seiglindes at the met, every year. I miss her voice so intensely.
You were lucky - I only heard her live on two occasions.
Ok, Hard Talk was supposed to be challenging, and sometimes it failed.Two things I noticed particularly, "Pigeon Holes are only interesting for pigeons" And if Jessye Norman ever called you 'darling' you were in deep and abiding trouble.
So True
She was simply born majestic. Smart, funny, elegant, incredibly beautiful and her astonishing voice.
The interviewer is to entertainment and intelligent conversation what paint stripper is to haute cuisine. What a fabulous, triumphant, sensible, joyous person Jessye Norman is here - and what a beautiful artist.
Subtext: “As a black person how did you force yourself to like a Caucasian art form...because be really honest you prefer Gershwin and American songbook standards to that Opera ish...right...I mean why didn’t you just sing the music you’re supposed to sing”. Literally one of the most insulting interviews I’ve ever had displeasure to watch. La Norman was a lady throughout.
exactly.
I agree. I also doubt if he would have suggested a white opera singer do hip hop.
I was SHOCKED. You hit the nail on the head.
As a child - I went to Opera with my mother. I saw a large woman of color play a 14 year old Japanese girl - and I believed it so much I cried and sobbed. When I was a teenager, I saw an almost 6 foot woman in her 50s play a young Spanish woman in her 20s. And I believed her, and I cried from the sheer beauty of her voice. Opera is the last bastion of talent. Age, size nor color of skin can stop talent. It's the Olympics of singing. Only a few can do it. And if their names are Martino Arroyo, or Leontyne Price, or Joan Sutherland, or Jessye Norman - and they don't fit some racist, ageist, elitist critic's idea of a character because of lack of imagination and appreciation of talent - then that's the critic's problem - not mine. Opera will always be a place of Olympian gods of the voice to me.
Elegant woman. May she rest in peace.
Beautiful iconic singer. RIP
Her wonderful diction and speaking voice reminds me so much of Maya Angelou
Hard to decide if her voice or her intelligence is her strength
An absolutely marvellous singer and an iconic, majestic human being. When I sadly heard of her death I immediately listened to her performance of the Tristan und Isolde Liebestod; I will never stop listening to her.
So did I! R.I.P.
For me it was "Beim Schlafengehen" from Strauss's "Vier Letzte Lieder."
"Tristan und Isolde Liebestod" is one of the most beautiful songs a composer has ever written and her voice raised it to Royalty.
"Danke Schoen" Jesseye Norman, "Danke Schoen."
RIP
DJ
What a stunning and high class woman! And beautiful as ever! R.I.P.
Just the fact that Jessye Norman was _on the stage_ in places where her race wasn’t represented in the orchestra, the cast, or the audience is _THE BIGGEST STATEMENT AGAINST RACISM SHE COULD HAVE MADE!!!_ And in the time since she began her professional career, there have been a large number of black singers who’ve had large to huge careers, and she definitely was an example to them and still can be now that she’s gone!
I met Ms Norman twice just by chance in a MAC Cosmetics store in Manhattan a little under 20 years ago. I just had to to let her know how much my mother and I admired her. She was approachable, polite, had a beautiful smile and lovely skin and was just a tiny bit haughty 😆 but who cares?
Ms Norman had a great talent, a beautiful singing voice and she passionately gave herself to her craft in the classical opera genre.
It was a pleasure to meet you Ms Norman all those years ago
RIP
What you saw was not 'haughty'. It was supreme confidence in self, it was years of experience standing in your presence, she was secure in who she was and it was her blackness. Yes her blackness, remember that!
I didn't say that I had a problem with Ms Norman's haughtiness or her confidence though. Ms Norman wasn't rude to me, she wasn't impolite or condescending to me. I never said that I had a problem with her or her manner I'm just describing my chance meetings with her.
@@itsmeak7693 Respects !!
The other thing is that her speaking voice and manner may have come across as haughty but it was nott necessarily so - she had spent years honing a very dramatic craft where she switched between languages fluently and it definitely affected her demeanor and manner of speaking etc. May sound haughty and officious before one gets used to it and understands where it comes from.
Jessye was almost never haughty but elegant, graceful, classy, and has an almost musical speaking voice, she is incredibly intelligent that doesn’t make her haughty.
I love Jesse Norman. She was an Icon for not just opera . She lifted up all of our spirits and brougt so much culture to her and our hearts to live by. Why does your weight ever become a standard by which anyone should just close their eyes and just open their ears and listen
Great voice, great spirit, great woman.
Oh how I will miss Jessye Norman. What a breath of fresh air, what a well spoken woman, what an outstanding performer, what a real person she is despite her accolades. RIP Jessye.
Indeed one of the most wonderful voice of Opera World!
MS. JESSYE NORMAN HAD A BRILLIANT MIND AS WELL AS A BRILLIANT VOICE!! SHE WAS BRILLIANT!!
I just read her Wikipedia biography. She has a Master's in music and honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale, Julliard, Oxford, Cambridge and many more. All well-deserved.
I love how she keeps up her very high level throughout the whole interview. I wish I could do that.
What leadership, poise, class, wisdom, insight, illumination, beauty, skill, range, fair, standard of a this Iconic Performer and Superstar.
God, how I miss her. Such a remarkable human being and beautiful lady.
I find myself smiling as she talks. She was so charming, witty, and warm, inviting, despite her regality. And yes, I too was just getting warmed up when I realised that 24 minutes so quickly flew.
I met her in 1979 after her concert at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. She and her entire program were brilliant; a highlight of this singer's undergraduate studies in Voice Performance. They held a "meet and greet" on stage immediately following her concert and I was fortunate to meet her, shake her hand and look into those huge, expressive eyes. A night I will never forget. Rest in peace, dear Jessye Norman. You live in all of us who sing.
Did speak she speaks to you?
The oppression was not in mind nor in my spirit. He just don’t get it.
IKR? It's like he's trying to get some sob-story of victimization from her, and she will have none of it. Such class and dignity.
Vinista you caught that too. 😂
Typical BBC
Yeah he didn't want to get it he was so irritating
He wanted her to rail against the USA and its stupid and horribly cruel racism, which we still suffer from (I am American and I can say this). And she could have done this but she didn't want to focus on that because she is a transcendent artist. She TRANSCENDED racism because art transcends racism and all human limited thinking. That is what the interview should have been about.
Love love love - can't say it enough - how much I loved Jessye Norman - always the picture of class and elegance. Such extraordinary talent and musicianship. Her performance in the Met Ring was galvanizing for me as a young singer.
She is awesome! Jeez...this interview should have been at least an hour if not 2 hours. So much experience, wit and wisdom to share.
Simultaneously gracious, elegant, and utterly no-nonsense.
American Blacks accomplishments and over achievements while facing brutal Government discrimination is beyond amazing. Special group of people they are
Hundreds of years of strength and resilience.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I have watched Hardtack many times and this is the first time I have seen the otherwise brilliant interviewer Stephen Sackur awed by the person he was interviewing. And the gift to us of that was he gave Jessye Norman the opportunity to display her humanity, wit, brilliance, dignity and the reminder of what a great soul she was.
Very disappointing interviewer, thankfully Ms.Norman is far more than her interviewer.
shelly green right. Her interviewer was very rude.
@@girlmusician24 Not only rude, but his questions are quite silly. Very weird that he could not think of something more interesting and insightful to ask.
Jessie wasn’t having anyone try to sway her from what she believes. I miss her spirit!!! Legend!
What a goose; Jessye Norman had him on toast - in the nicest possible way, of course. What a lady.
I'd never heard her speak. What an enjoyable experience this was! The music clips make me want hear more of her art. xx
The world will certainly miss this voice. Bravo Ms. Norman, wherever you are now!!!
What a delightful and inspirational person..... rest in peace dear Jessye ❤️
I have just learned this. This is heartbreaking for me. I love you Jessye. Rest in Heaven.
I just loved her. I had the privilege of being on stage with her at the MET in Ariadne auf Naxos. She was Ariadne and I was Echo, standing on that tall, rolling platform that looked down on her. Too bad I was so young at 23 and really did not understand what I was experiencing as a young artist. I love hee attitude, she did not take oppression into her being. It did not stop her.
I go back to this interview periodically to get inspiration 😊
I don't read it I don't need it. Fabulous
BBC: YOU WERE OPPRESSED
Jesse: The oppression was not in my mind.
BBC: YOU WERE OPPRESSED
Jessey: I never allowed myself to be oppressed.
BBC: HOW DARE U LEAVE THE idealogical PLANTATION?
Jessey: I never allowed myself to be definied by your toxicity.
It’s hard talk. It’s the point of the show.
It is the nature of the programme
I don't read the critics
DWL.... nicely worded
@@peteradaniel There was nothing hard about the talk. It was however painful watching how this guy was only interested in her story from the perspective of identiy politics and while that might be a legitimate part of an interview the entire interview was used to go through a checklist of woke woes. Its this lack of balance is why people are disillusioned with these liars.
I miss her presence so much.
“Darling they might write it, but I don’t read it” she doesn’t need it !! what do you think she is going to start snapping her fingers in anger. JN is as graceful and fierce as her voice. Love her.
Marvelous Queen!
Mrs. Norman has extra-ordinary talent, A great legend. We miss you Jessye.
Her Majesty has spoken!
Jessye is incredibly educated. She has a Masters in music and honorary doctorates from some of the greatest English-speaking universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Julliard and many more. I normally don't respect honorary doctorates but based on this interview, they're well-deserved.
What a magnificent person. I melt into tears when I hear her sing, I didn't realise how strong she was
This Interviewer seemed to very fixed on race.
Dont understand why he suggested that she should try hip hop what an insult.
Ikale Sunflower he was literally racist. I wonder if he would ask a white classical singer a similar question?
winston scott ... bollocks.
I am shocked. This is scandalous honestly!
Yes, that was asinine.
I listen to her in so many operas she has such a wonderful voice
What a class act! The ignorant interviewer was no match for her responses..she was so far above his stupid questions. "Darling they may write it, but I don't read it." LOL. I love you Jessye. You will be greatly missed! RIP!!! BRAVA!!!
Flyinghow i totally agree with your posting but what is most poignant in that interview is the fact that the great Jesse Norman skillfully delineated what a bunch of free loading parasites most of so called critics are and at the end of the day they do not know squat!!!
@@glenroyreid2509 You are so right!
One of the greatest singers of the world.
He wants her to say that there were not opportunities for black people. It is incredibly! She was discipline, a hard worker, a great musician, an exceptional voice and a smart woman. That's why she succeeded.
Wonderful voice, talent, intellect and personality. Brilliant woman. R. I. P. Ms Norman.
Brilliant!!! She is smart and one of the most amazing opera voice! That ever graced this planet.
Thank you for sharing this is just wonderful interview ! In memoriam Jessye Norman ...
Love her. The world did not deserve this woman
Her voice was wonderful. RIP
Excellent interview with one of my most favorite opera singers.
Memory Eternal
Ms. Norman.
🌷
syncletica saint
I agree and I am mystified by some of the negative comments on here which I think say a lot more about posters than it does about this interview.
I think Ms Norman summed it up at the end when told the interview was over, "I am just getting started", she clearly was enjoying herself and being allowed to express her deep felt opinions. A great artiste and a wonderful human being that is what I saw and heard.
Smart, humble and confident woman..she corrected that close minded interviewer who seemed to be puzzled as to why she didn't sing r&b or soul music coming from the 50s & 60s and focusing so much on race rather than her talent
Wow! Amazingly inspirational!!!❤️ I need to learn more about her!
What a magnanimous, ingratiating, regal persona has she... and charmingly quick-witted, with a lovely accent to boot.
I have only admiration and respect for Jessye Norman. She is the most beautiful person, with the most beautiful disposition, outlook, perspective, voice, musicality, artistry (including dramatic artistry) & fashion style. May she rest in peace.
I think it is fantastic what Jessye Norman quotes Duke Ellington as saying, "There are only two types of music: good music and bad music."
In sharing a personal experience over a period of years, I trained as a Classical Singer who was exposed to all genres of music before birth, but all of a sudden, as soon as I began writing and singing other genres, very ignorant people labelled me as only a Classical Singer. They did not offer any positive feedback or suggestions. They were highly ignorant people who were in the contemporary music camp and liked to put classically trained musicians in the opposing camp. The humorous thing was that I know more about contemporary music than all of them and play more instruments than all of them and have also studied CCM singing as well now. Bless their hearts! May those people one day crawl out from under their superficially ignorant rocks and be a little less negative and a bit more accepting and openminded. Then they might learn a thing or two as well. We can't help it if we can do it all!! And they need to stop feeling so insecure and defensive. So, I agree with Jessye Norman. Limiting art is not helpful. There are ONLY two types of music: good music and bad music.
In regards to comments about what critics, et al express, it is not important and is irrelevant to her as a person. They are nothing to her. When somebody makes personal attacks at a Singer's performance and especially their body image, then that is just a cruel opinion which has only one place and that is in the silence zone. They are not helpful.
Jessye Norman is absolutely 100% correct when stating that Opera can not be defined in terms of visual and auditory percentages and that Opera is not a form of snobbery. That is only the way that some people who may be ignorantly insecure interpret it to be. It is an artform. Art is boundless and it is inclusive and very openminded and accepting. It is to be appreciated and valued when it is produced as good music.
Opera encompasses truly beautiful voices, strong technique with great agility. Particular voices are suited to particular arias and roles. An exceptional Opera Singer must understand and do their research regarding the character roles, story of the Opera, the libretti and the history of the libretti. If it is Faust for example, then one must understand Goethe's 'Faust' and research, research, research. You must research the original work, the other works inspired by Faust, the way other singers have sung your role, the way other actors have played the character theatrically. You must build up a sweat and immerse yourself. It's hard work, but gee whiz, isn't it worth it!
In empathising with the character, one must immerse oneself without allowing the emotive content to overwhelm them. They must distance themselves in a very healthy and genuine manner. Expressiveness is relayed through the musicality, the expression of the libretti and through facial gestures, actions and acting. An Opera Singer is not on stage to be in a size zero costume for a fashion photograph. If a Designer has designed a costume in a particular size, well, they were talented enough to make it in one size and now they must make it in the correct size for the best person for the role. Get those sewing machines out. Opera singing requires immense levels of stamina, especially if we are discussing Wagner. The energy must come from somewhere. Opera Singers definitely look after their health, but they have no time to be marathon runners, because they are already working on their music for hours and hours and hours each day. It is all encompassing. They have to be the suitable person for the role, especially through their artistic and interpretative ability, combined with the timbre of their voice and linguistic command. They are not drinking copious amounts of coffee, limiting their water, eating one carrot a day and fasting for a fashion shoot as some models are expected to do for their roles in front of the camera. They are in the business of making the good music, as opposed to the bad music.
In line with this comment by Jessye Norman regarding being able to speak languages which she sang in, it is important to truly understand the lyrical content of a song and to truly understand the correct word pronunciations. In my opinion, phonetics are of course helpful for pronunciation, but they will never give a true command of a language, nor the understanding of an Operatic role, especially when using conditional tenses, etc. Translations which you find alongside phonetic translations are not always correct and do not always give the whole true meaning of the aria and Operatic work as a whole. So, as Jessye Norman states, you have a duty as an Opera Singer to study languages intensively - immersing yourself. Having good diaphragmatic support is definitely not enough.
In regards to the presenter, he did not seem to come across to me as rude, but distant, a little arrogant and wanting to control the situation. To some degree, controlling the presentation is expected. Jessye Norman's intelligent and well communicated knowledge sets the record straight on every occasion needed. After all, she is just amazing. I don't believe that Jessye Norman was annoyed with him, condemning him or trying to put him in his place necessarily. She was annoyed by the issues raised regarding limited perspectives espoused by what sound like extremely opinionated, yet ignorant people, who show no shame in expressing what they believe, which is actually completely incorrect and judgemental.
Long live good Music and the beautiful voice, artist and person who was Jessye Norman. May she have paved the way for many more exceptionally talented humans, in a very aware and socially conscious way.
Like the other supportive comments herein, I hold Jessye Norman in the highest esteem and am totally inspired by her as a person. With the deepest respect and admiration.
Well said. Hallelujah, Amen. 🙏
"I don't sing in a language I don't speak..." I love it. J'aime cela! I'm so proud of this phenomenal black woman. RIP Ms. Norman. You were a class act till the final curtain call.
This is the person who one would model their self after, without question.
A rare and humble person despite being so extraordinarily talented.
I love this lady. Intelligent and interlectual and far too bright for the bbc... 🔆🔆🙏😘