{"id":62855,"date":"2019-09-30T21:20:33","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T01:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=62855"},"modified":"2019-10-03T07:42:22","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T11:42:22","slug":"memoriam-jessye-norman-international-opera-icon-dead-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/09\/30\/memoriam-jessye-norman-international-opera-icon-dead-74\/","title":{"rendered":"IN MEMORIAM | Jessye Norman, International Opera Icon, Dead At 74"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_62857\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62857\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-62857 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary.jpg\" alt=\"Jessye Norman\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary-1024x536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62857\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jessye Norman, 1945-2019 (Photo: Carol Friedman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the most significant sopranos of our era has died.<\/p>\n<p>Jessye Norman died today in New York at the age of 74. According to publicist Gwendolyn Quinn, Norman died this morning at Mount Sinai St. Luke&#8217;s Hospital &#8220;from septic shock and multi-organ failure secondary to complications of a spinal cord injury she had sustained in 2015.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Her passing is an enormous loss. Social media posts immediately exploded with an outpouring of tributes and remembrances for one of the greatest female voices in recording history, possibly of all time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What a stunning, saddening loss today. This gives just an inkling of Jessye Norman&#39;s vocal, artistic, and personal magnificence: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/R8blZOOk5U\">https:\/\/t.co\/R8blZOOk5U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Renee Fleming (@ReneeFleming) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReneeFleming\/status\/1178831428064350208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Very sad news to end the day. A great loss for the world of opera. Thank you for sharing your incredible gift with all of us, Ms. Norman.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ygDSkwYMYd\">https:\/\/t.co\/ygDSkwYMYd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Canadian Opera Company (@CanadianOpera) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CanadianOpera\/status\/1178793914750443521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rest in peace to the legendary Jessye Norman. The opera icon passed away at 74 years old. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VSSKsJHaKl\">pic.twitter.com\/VSSKsJHaKl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Clay Cane (@claycane) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/claycane\/status\/1178796594881323008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A supreme legend, Star, opera diva! She came to see our Porgy &amp; Bess on B\u2019way at least 5 times that I remember. By the fifth time I was greeting her with&#8230;\u201dHey girrrl\u201d ?? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Irreplaceable?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Irreplaceable<\/a> <br \/>Jessye Norman, the international opera star, dead at 74 &#8211; ABC News <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MppzcPC4UK\">https:\/\/t.co\/MppzcPC4UK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; David Alan Grier (@davidalangrier) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidalangrier\/status\/1178792012125859840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A singer who projected a rainbow of tone with astonishing ease, she came to be known for a diversity of roles after her 1968 debut with the Deutsche Oper Berlin in Wagner\u2019s Tannh\u00e4user as Elisabeth bringing a regal power and presence to the stage, whether she sang the title role in Verdi&#8217;s Aida, Judith in Bart\u00f3k&#8217;s Duke Bluebeard&#8217;s Castle or Cassandre in Berlioz&#8217;s Les Troyens.<\/p>\n<p>It would not be long before she would establish herself as the signature heroine of Wagner opera, particularly her Sieglinde, perhaps the greatest realization of the role in the last quarter of the twentieth century. In some ways, equally famous was her commanding performance and instrumental colour of Strauss&#8217;s Ariadne from Ariadne auf Naxos.<\/p>\n<p>She was also considered a trailblazer, following in the footsteps of other African-American singers such as Marian Anderson, Dorothy Maynor, Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Reri Grist alongside contemporary greats Harolyn Blackwell and Kathleen Battle.<\/p>\n<p>She worked and recorded with some of the greatest conductors of her time, including Herbert von Karajan, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur and Seiji Ozawa. But best of all for her fans, she distinguished herself with her versatility and command of multiple repertoires including acclaimed recitals and recordings of German lieder, American art songs and spirituals.<\/p>\n<p>She displayed a natural ability to know a score inside and out for all its inherent interpretive possibilities. Her ability to listen to an orchestra and align to the music kept her in demand with conductors for decades.<\/p>\n<p>She won five Grammy Awards, the Kennedy Center Award and in 2009, the National Medal of Arts Award.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"notranslate\">Last February, Norman\u00a0was in Toronto to receive the Glenn Gould Prize, of which she was the first woman and the first opera singer to be a laureate. During her stay, our colleague Joseph So interviewed her for Ludwig van Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"notranslate\" style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/02\/08\/interview-jessye-norman-a-force-of-nature\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ THE INTERVIEW WITH JESSYE NORMAN.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"notranslate\">All our condolences to Jessye Norman&#8217;s family and to those who, like us, admired her immense talent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Requiescat in pace, <strong>Jessye Norman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><em>Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LudwigVanToronto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Facebook<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/span>,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ludwigvantoronto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Instagram<\/b><\/a><\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b>or\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LudwigVanTO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Twitter<\/b><\/a><\/span>\u00a0for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is with great sadness that we report on the death of the great American soprano Jessye Norman, September 30, 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":62857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25164,41,43],"tags":[18505],"yst_prominent_words":[31738,31737,12272,11407,9963,17965,18491,18489,6616,7013,31733,6886,11707,11033,10395,6741],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/09\/Jessye-Norman-obituary.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-glN","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62855"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62855"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62906,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62855\/revisions\/62906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62855"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=62855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}