- published: 08 Sep 2009
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Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.
One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant", "soaring" and "a Price beyond pearls", as well as "genuinely buttery, carefully produced but firmly under control", with phrases that "took on a seductive sinuousness." Time magazine called her voice "Rich, supple and shining, it was in its prime capable of effortlessly soaring from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C."
A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, she was considered especially well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, as well as several in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Her voice ranged from A-flat below middle C to the E above high C. (She said she reached F "in the shower.")
After her retirement from the opera stage in 1985, she continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts for another 12 years.
Leontyne Price Opera Farewell "O patria mia"
Leontyne Price Performs ´Vissi D´arte
Leontyne Price "Libera me Domine" Verdi Requiem
Leontyne Price, "Pace mio dio". LA FORZA DEL DESTINO, Giuseppe Verdi.
Leontyne Price sings "Summertime"
O Holy Night - Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price Essence TV interview
NEA Opera Honors: Interview with Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price "Song to the moon" Rusalka
LEONTYNE PRICE - 2001 - GOD BLESS AMERICA
Leontyne Price "D'amor sull'ali rosee" Il Trovatore
Leontyne Price in interview 1/7