zPARA rPAR@ ` :TEXT ` ,Norman, Jessye1945╨ opera singerBorn on September 15, 1945, in Augusta, Georgia, Jessye Norman was one of five children in a prosperous upper-middle class family. Both her mother and grandmother were pianists and her father sang in Augusta╒s Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, the site of Norman╒s earliest singing experiences. At age 16, she traveled to Philadelphia for her first important vocal competition. Though she won only words of encouragement, she stopped on her way home to sing for Carolyn Grant, the head of the voice department at Howard University. Grant offered her a full scholarship, and, two years later, Norman received her first formal voice training there and earned a bachelor╒s degree with honors. She continued her studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore with Alice Duschak and then at the University of Michigan with Elizabeth Mannion and Pierre Bernac.While still a graduate student, she won the 1968 International Music Competition in Munich, making such an impression that the Berlin Deutsche Oper immediately offered her a three-year contract. She made her operatic debut with that company in 1969 as Elisabeth in Tannhèuser. Norman eventually resigned when she saw that she was expected to sing roles without regard for her particular talents, experience or temperament. Such a bold decision by a young singer was characteristic of the artistic self-determination Norman exhibited throughout her career. In a world where the opera diva is revered, she has concentrated much of her energy on performing recitals and concerts. Norman has noted for her thorough scholarship and her ability to project drama through her voice╤qualities that contributed to her enormous success as a recitalist. Her varied repertoire in these settings included Schubert, Mahler, Wagner, Brahms, Satie, Messaien and contemporary American composers. Norman╒s extraordinary artistry and vocal gifts combined to make her one of the most versatile and internationally acclaimed singers of her time. During 1976 and 1977, several years after her major recital debuts in New York and London, Norman performed extensively throughout North America. She also toured in South America, the Middle East, Australia, Israel, and Europe.She chose her operatic roles with great care, not only for the music, but because ╥to portray a character of ╔ depth is more interesting to me than simply singing a pretty tune.╙ Her commanding stage presence and rich, powerful soprano lent themselves to the larger-than-life heroines she favored in opera. Her operatic debuts included: the title role in Meyerbeer╒s L╒Africaine in Florence in 1971; in Aòda at La Scala; and Cassandra in Berlioz╒s Les Troyens at Covent Garden in 1972. That Norman╒s career choices and her huge talent have served her well in the opera world was exemplified by the auspiciousness of her 1983 debut at the Metropolitan Opera. She appeared on opening night of the Metropolitan╒s centennial season in a monumental production of Berloz╒s Les Troyens. She also opened the 1989 opera season in Chicago as Gluck╒s Alcestis, and that same year returned to the Met stage for an historic performance of that company╒s first single character production, Erwartung by Schoenberg. Many recordings and television broadcasts bear her name; they span the breadth of her operatic and concert repertory, including some explorations of American spirituals and popular music. Known for insisting upon times of complete solitude, she greatly valued her privacy, often limiting discussions of personal matters in her interviews with the media. styl ` ! ¬ 5¬ 5¬ ' !I 5¬ Ç !I ÿ 5¬ Ö !I \ 5¬ ] !I ╒ 5¬ ╓ !I
