Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price was born in Laurel, Mississippi to musical parents. She was destined to greatness.
Leontyne Price was born on February 10, 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi. No one could have guessed how far this little African American girl would go. It was during a depression that left millions of Americans without jobs and homeless. No state in the union was a haven for African Americans but Mississippi was on the bottom of the scale.
Her mother had high hopes of becoming a nurse but there was no money for schooling. She did eventually become a midwife. Katherine Baker settled in Laurel Mississippi and met James Anthony Price whom she married. Price was a carpenter by trade but worked long hours at a saw mill to support his family. “Do your best” was a constant refrain this little girl and her brother heard.
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Both parents were children of Methodist Ministers. James played the tuba and Katherine sang in the choir. Their daughter was in love with music and she was provided piano lessons from the time she was three and a half years old. She practiced faithfully and at nine years old she was taken to a concert in Jackson, Mississippi to hear Marian Anderson. The experience was life altering.
At school she was a member of the choral group where she sang soprano and played piano for concerts. She sang at church for worship services and at funerals, weddings, and at events around town. When she graduated from high school she received a scholarship to Wilberforce College. She planned to return to Laurel to teach voice and piano but fate had other plans for Leontyne Price. One teacher suggested she change her major to voice and another tutored her to find her true voice which was lyric soprano.
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In 1948 Leontyne went to New York to attend the Juilliard school of Music. She worked and her parents helped what they could. A white family who her aunt worked for put in a substantial amount to get her through her graduate studies. Opera became Leontyne’s obsession after she saw a production of Richard Strauss’s Salome, based on the biblical story.
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African Americans were not fully accepted in Opera, although the history of African American Opera singers date back into the nineteenth century. New York City’s Metropolitan Opera maintained it’s no-blacks policy until 1950. Now Leontyne had even more work to do. She studied Italian and other languages she would sing in, and she studied the art of acting. It paid off and she received a minor role in the Opera by Giacomo Puccini. but it was her performance of “Bess” that set her on the road to fame.
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Leontyne Price most heralded performance was “Aida” at La Scala, in Milan in 1959. She was the first opera singer to be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. By the time she retired she had three Emmy’s and twenty Grammy Awards among her other awards. She spent some of her retirement writing a book for young readers published in 1990. In closing her book of Aida, she wrote
“Aida has given me great inspiration on stage and off. Her deep devotion and love for her country and for her people-her nobility, strength and courage-are all qualities I aspire to as a human being. I will never forget her.”
http://quazen.com/reference/biography/the-rebellion-of-nat-turner/
http://socyberty.com/history/slaves-at-marthas-vineyard/
http://socyberty.com/history/rosa-parks-legacy/
http://quazen.com/reference/biography/nicholas-winston-rescued-jewish-children-from-nazis/
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27 Comments
raman13, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
excellent
Sound and Lights, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Nice one…
ken bultman, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Very thorough biography of a pioneering opera star. Nice job.
cardy, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
What a good read nice article great job!
James Tiger, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
very good
Christine Ramsay, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
A wonderful story of how you can achieve what you want with determination and hard work. Good work, Ruby.
Christine
martie, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
It always amazes me what one can acheive even when all odds are against them.
ashan1614, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Leontyne Price did indeed pave the way for many others, whether they recognize that fact or not. She was not afraid to follow her dream – women like her are my inspiration.
Great write, as always, Ruby!
Mythili Kannan, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Great article
CA Johnson, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
This was a very interesting biography on Leontyne Price. She really opened the doors for a lot of singers. I enjoy reading your articles on these inspirational people.
Lostash, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Excellent as always Ruby! Your biographies always tell inspriring stories!
Mystify, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
What wonderful pieces of history you always tell Ruby!Another fabulous and inspiring tale also very interesting and very well written as always!
Frances Lawrence, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Another wonderful article, very inspiring, thank you.
PR Mace, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
I am not much of an opera fan but this was an amazing piece. Well written and well presented. Hi, I am back from vacation.
Lucas Dié, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
You amaze me time and again, Ruby. Very interesting to read, and as usual well presented.
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
Very well-written biography.
Darlene McFarlane, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
A very interesting piece, Ruby.
I enjoyed it very much.
Guy Hogan, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
A wonderful story and one I did not know.
Vikram Chhabra, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
That was a very inspiring biography. Very well researched Ruby!!
Eunice Tan, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
You has chosen an inspiring story to be published. Well done.
Sourav, posted this comment on Oct 21st, 2009
Very well written piece… enjoyed something I didn’t know..
SharifaMcFarlane, posted this comment on Oct 21st, 2009
You keep on delivering well-written stories about very inspiring people!
Thanks for another interesting article Ruby.
Ruby Hawk, posted this comment on Oct 23rd, 2009
Thank you my friends for your interest and your comments. I thought Leontyne was a very interesting lady. I am happy you all enjoyed her story as much as I did.
Shirley Shuler, posted this comment on Oct 27th, 2009
This is a wonderful article, Ruby, I enjoyed reading it very much!!
Simon, posted this comment on Feb 19th, 2010
thanx for the info but uuuuhhhhh……………………..you forgot to put in if she was married or not.but overall it was allright although half of your info is false your stuff was alright.needs improvement.you can do much better.if i was rating you ill give you a 0 or 1 your info is not good enough for 2,3,4,5,6,7,8, or 10.sorry maybe next time youll do better.
-from:Simon on American Idol
Stephanie.S.Hawkins, posted this comment on Feb 19th, 2010
sourav,i like your pic anytime call me @ 336-265-5526
cutedrishti8, posted this comment on Oct 20th, 2009
thanks for the information