Jessye Norman
The Celebrated Soprano and International Opera Sensation
Jessye Norman credited black opera singers before her with paving the way for her success. Marian Anderson is among them. Jessye Norman, like Anderson, was able to sing French and German operas in the classical style, and her vocal charisma carried her to the stages of notable opera houses around the world. She also cultivated her career in Europe, where black artists were afforded far greater opportunities than in the United States, which was rampant with racism. Despite it all, Jessye gave impressive performances in operas, recitals, and concerts, and won multiple Grammy Awards, including one for lifetime achievement.
Jessye insisted on doing things her way, and she carved out a singing career that included an eclectic repertoire and a broad range of roles in various operas. Jessye gave back to her community in Augusta, Georgia as well, by founding a school for the arts there. And having endured racism throughout her life, she became a vocal civil rights advocate.
Jessye, though a prominent black artist in the classical world, faced racism in her industry, along with other black artists, yet she refused to cater to the whims of bigoted controlers. In her memoir, Stand Up Straight and Sing!, Jessye writes:
“Consider that a major network thought it a fine idea to invite me to play a role in a sitcom pilot about three maids who take the bus to work in the suburbs of Chicago. It is important to note that at that moment, my stage work consisted of roles where the lead was that of a queen of a country, as Alceste, Dido, Jocasta, and so forth.”
Not only did she play queens onstage, but she also rubbed shoulders with real-life monarchs and heads of state. Jessye Norman was born on September 15, 1945, in Augusta, Georgia, to Janie King Norman, an amateur pianist, and Silas Norman, Sr., an insurance broker. Jessye grew up in a segregated world, where she was told by her mother that she was not allowed to play in a section of a Georgia train station that was for whites only. In a 2014 interview, she told NPR:
“I had a lot of questions about the segregation of the races when I was a young child and I still do.”
Jessye held a bachelor’s degree in music which she earned from Howard University, and she also studied at the University of Michigan and Peabody Institute. Throughout her singing career, Jessye developed a rich, voluptuous operatic voice that filled auditoriums with the full resonance of a majestic soprano. Peter Gelb, general manager of New York’s Metropolitan Opera said that Jessye Norman was:
“one of the greatest artists to ever sing on our stage.”
The power of her voice penetrated the hearts of her audience, and she effortlessly sang the classical notes of concert arias fully fleshed, with the graceful accompaniment of the pit orchestra. It can be argued that Jessye Norman had no equal in the 1980s, during her prime years, which was the peak of her career. She sat on the board of several institutions, among them Carnegie Hall, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, City-Meals-on-Wheels in New York City, the New York Botanical Garden, the New York Public Library, and the National Music Foundation. She was also a member of the board of trustees for the Augusta Opera Association and of Paine College.
“It can be argued that Jessye Norman had no equal in the 1980s, during her prime years, which was the peak of her career.”
Jessye received numerous prestigious awards and distinguished honors in her career. Complications arising from a spinal cord injury she suffered in 2015 led to her death on September 30, 2019. Septic shock and multi-organ failure were cited as the cause of death. Two months later, Jessye was memorialized with a gala tribute at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the very opera house where she sang more than 80 performances.
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Learn more about Jessye Norman by reading Stand Up Straight and Sing!.
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This article appears in 45 People, Places, and Events in Black History You Should Know.
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