Leontyne Price, one of the leading international sopranos of her generation, was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1927. After studying at Juilliard, she attracted attention in 1952 when Virgil Thomson chose her for the revival of his opera Four Saints in Three Acts on Broadway. The following year she starred as Bess in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at the Ziegfield Theater, and a two-year world tour followed. Her future stature as a great Verdi performer became clear when she sang Aida at San Francisco, Vienna, Covent Garden, and La Scala. Her Metropolitan Opera debut was in 1961 as Leonora in Il trovatore. She recalls in detail here her experiences as Cleopatra in Barber's opera written for the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in 1966. Her repertoire included Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, and Puccini, but she returned to Verdi for her final appearance as Aida in 1985.

Rudolf Bing, general manager of the Met, wanted Price to open the new opera house with a new American opera. Interviewed as she arrived on opening night, September 16, 1966, Price said she was grateful for the privilege and the honor and went on: “I’m anything but calm. I’m exhilarated beyond belief and excited completely out of my skin!” She was pleased that her hometown could be connected to the broadcast—and, of course, she sang magnificently, with countless high notes delivered with total assurance.

Interview

By Permission of Leontyne Price

LPI consider myself very fortunate to have known a composer of Samuel Barber's magnitude and for him to have written things for me. I’m exhilarated beyond belief to know that I am one of those rare creatures who have had the privilege of having a composer write not only an opera centered around my own instrument but also a cycle of songs. Beginning in those early days in the 1950s I considered myself a very devoted friend of Sam’s, as I called him affectionately, which I think is as important for a singer and a composer as it would be for a singer and a conductor. I had a sort of strange, special marriage with Sam. I still do because as long as I can sing, there will always be regular performances of his compositions. My beloved teacher Florence Page Kimball was a great friend of Samuel Barber’s, as was another beloved friend, Nicholas Nabokov. When I was a student at Juilliard there was a great deal of focus through him and Virgil Thomson on this instrument of mine, thank God! I met Samuel Barber, Henri Sauguet, Francis Poulenc—so many contemporary composers it really blew my mind—and I began to learn a lot of compositions. Almost instantly, there was this affinity for Barber's music, the way it sort of embraces my instrument, as does Verdi and some Mozart and Strauss. It's the same kind of thing. And there was an invitation from the Library of Congress to do a premiere with him of the Hermit Songs, which was really the first major exposure I’d had with him. He was an exquisite pianist, and he was a wonderful vocalist too, a light lyric baritone, and could always sing to you what he wanted. He could sing the phrases himself and play at the same time, which I thought was ambidextrous at its best! And, treading where angels fear to tread, I said, “Look, why don't we team up?” [laughs] I was having a terrible case of stage fright—well who doesn’t?—and we did it with great success.