Leontyne Price
Soprano (spinto)
Born February 10, 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi, United States (99 years old)
Opera
Leontyne Price is an American singer who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, becoming the first Black singer to maintain a sustained relationship with the company. She regularly appeared at the world's major opera houses, including the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala. She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
7 Signature Roles5 Principal Houses
Spotlight
Career Trajectory
Leontyne Price emerged from Laurel, Mississippi, to study at Juilliard, where her extraordinary vocal gifts and artistic maturity were recognized early. Her breakthrough came through performances at NBC Opera and San Francisco Opera in the 1950s, culminating in her historic Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961, which shattered racial barriers and established her as one of America's greatest sopranos. Over four decades, she became the definitive Verdi soprano of her generation, commanding the world's greatest stages and recording a legacy of performances that remain unsurpassed in their vocal beauty and interpretive authority.
Career Highlight
Made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Leonora in Il trovatore (1961), becoming one of the first African American singers to achieve star status at the company
At a Glance
- Voice
- Soprano (spinto)
- Nationality
- American
- Born
- 1927 · Laurel, Mississippi, United States
- Active since
- 1961
Training & Education
Central State University (Ohio); Juilliard School of Music
Engagements
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