This was Price at her best. I enjoy this performance more than with Mehta for sheer vocalism. Her delivery of the text is the soft section is haunting! And she is wicked good! Watch her eyes. Watch her body language. One senses she knows how good this performance is! Brava.
C'est magnifique.. vocalement et tellement expressif avec tout son corps, ses yeux, son expression .... c'est la plus belle interprétation que j'ai jamais vue et entendue....merci pour ce post....c t une divine ..
Bravissimo La Price!! This is such a wonderful scene for Leontyne, the more her voice matured, the more it settled with this scene. But to have been there, one would be on the edge of the seat in pure amazement!
Bravo - I have seen VERY few roles really give Leontyne a run for her money. Strauss certainly was a worthy challenger. If Leontyne, The Virtually Unsurpassed Queen of Breath Control, has to dig deep as you saw here, then this piece is clearly a challenge for mere mortal sopranos. Not to mention, the piece doesn't let up. The more you make your way to the end, there are still high notes that have to tackled from more than precarious positions. Rhythmically, the piece is a minefield. Let's just say they picked the right soprano on that night to sing this piece. You truly need to be a TITAN of your craft to even think of attempting this, much less perform it with this level of brilliance, AND then have your performance stand the test of time. Unreal. I'm literally shaking my head tonight.
What a stupendous performance! For many years I've thought Price's 1982 performance of this with the New York Philharmonic was the be-all and end-all. This stunning performance now assumes th position. True, the balances aren't perfect, but Price's glorious, thrilling vocalism still shines throughout...at the of 59! ||: BRAVA! :||
Thank you for this great, great post. We get a snippet of Price in rehearsal which is wonderful. I love the maestro's work in the low passages and soft passages. He really brings out the full musical line for Price's unique vocalism. This is a clear demonstration by the greatest singer in any era that the voice is indeed the principal instrument of the orchestra. Bravissima, Leontyne.
Yes, exactly right! The audience's response is fully half the performance. Singing before one's audience is a call and response affair. Either one left out will diminish the full effect of the whole.
THE MOST GLORIOUS VOICE & ARTIST OF HER GENETATION AND MY GREATEST INSPIRATION ! I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL TO LEONTYNE FOR ALL SHE HAS GIVEN OF HER PHENOMENAL GIFT AND FOR THE PERSONAL TREASURE & GIFT SHE GAVE ME BACK STAGE THAT MAGNIFICANT EVENING AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, AFTER HER STUPENDOUS RECITAL WHICH SHE SANG 8 OR 9 ENCORES FOR, AND NOTWITHSTANDING, ON HER OWN BIRTHDAY 🙏🌹🦋 GOD BLESS YOU , MY BELOVED COLLEAGUE AND HEROINE ❤
Thank you for posting this most wonderful and yet another performance of one of Ms. Price’s war horse pieces!!! I hope you have MORE Price gems in store for us!!! Brava Leontyne!!
I think this and the spirituals/gospel video are all that I have in my old collection of videotapes. Not so many of Ms. Price's performances were broadcast or easily available in Canada back in the 1980s and 1990s.
Guess what? I found a profile of Leontyne Price from February 1987. It's 11'30", and includes an interview, plus concert and operatic performance footage, and even a brief clip from "What's My Line?". I'm digitizing it, and will post it tonight once the High Definition version is uploaded to RU-vid.
Very true Was thinking the same thing. Her mic was not turned high enough. Both she and the conductor were placed farther into the orchestra and she was farther past the conductor to allow for eye contact if necessary but all were giving all. Stunning live performance. She was totally into it. Have seen her live multiple times and close up. She was completely in character and was acting much more than usual. The opportunity to perform this live must have been very meaningful or important to her. Just thrilling.
