Jessye Norman

JESSYE NORMAN is “one of those once-in-a-generation singers who is not simply following in the footsteps of others, but is staking out her own niche in the history of singing.” This rich history continues to be made as she brings her sumptuous sound, her joy of singing and spontaneous passion to recital performances, operatic portrayals, and appearances with symphony orchestras and chamber music collaborators to audiences around the world. The sheer size, power, and luster of her voice share equal acclaim with that of her thoughtful music-making, innovative programming of the classics, and fervent advocacy of contemporary music. Jessye Norman’s performances in the year 2003 included song recitals in London, Vienna, Brussels and Paris among other cities, with orchestral performances including a summer concert at the famed Herodus Atticus Amphitheater in Athens. At the Tate Britain in July, Miss Norman collaborated with the filmmaker and museum installation artist Steve McQueen, in a theatre production using videotape, spoken texts, and music. In Moscow she performed three orchestral concerts in the International Music Festival “Vladimir Spivakov invites.” Miss Norman concluded the year with her first visit to the Ukraine, with an orchestral concert in Kiev. Her 2004 performances will take her to Thailand, Japan, France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Mexico with appearances in the States to include Washington, Detroit, Cleveland, New York and her hometown of Augusta, Georgia. During the year 2002, Miss Norman’s spring performances included recitals at the Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, Franklin & Marshall College, Orchestra Hall, Chicago, the Philadelphia Cathedral, and the celebration of twenty-five years of Live at Lincoln Center at the New York State Theater in New York. She also gave the inaugural performance at the Bill Heard Theatre, RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Columbus, Georgia. She returned to the Salzburg Festival in the summer and brought Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and Schoenberg’s Erwartung to the stage of The Chatelet Theatre, Paris in September and October. Miss Norman participated in the inaugural performances for the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay in Singapore as part of her late autumn tour of Asia. She concluded the year with a special performance at the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony and Celebrational Peace Concert in honor of President Jimmy Carter. The 2001 performance year began with three recitals presented by Jessye Norman and James Levine at Carnegie Hall in February and March: The Songbook Series. This unique recital format provided audience members with a songbook comprised of some one hundred seventy-five song texts, but the actual program for each evening was revealed only on that evening. In addition, audience members were encouraged to vote from a list of encores for their special choices via the Carnegie Hall website. After a series of recitals in the United States, Miss Norman traveled to Korea and Japan, followed by performances in Athens and London ending this extended tour with a recital at Salzburg Festival in July. In September 2001, the Chatelet Theatre in Paris presented the world premiere of Bob Wilson’s staged production of Schubert’s Winterreise, with Jessye Norman. These heralded performances marked Miss Norman’s debut in this renowned song cycle. Other autumn performances included recitals in Germany, Spain and Austria and an orchestral performance with the Russian National Orchestra with Vladimir Spivakov in Moscow, Miss Norman’s first performance in that city. Her performances in December in the United States included a recital at the opening of the Carl Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, an orchestral performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Mariss Jansons, conductor, and a special benefit Christmas Concert at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. Performances in the United States in the spring of 2000 included the world premiere of a work commissioned for her by the Carnegie Hall Corporation, woman.life.song, with texts by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and music by Judith Weir. Her summer performances in Europe and the Middle East included recitals and concerts in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and the ancient amphitheatre at Casarea, Israel. The European premiere of “woman.life.song” was performed at the BBC Proms in London’s Albert Hall. Further performances for 2000 included Athens, Vienna, Lyon, the Salzburg Festival, the Flanders Festival with a recital at the Cathedral of Ghent and the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. After the wonderful reception of her dramatic musical production of the Sacred Music of Duke Ellington at London’s Barbican Theatre and the Amphitheatre of Epidaurus in Greece last year, The Sacred Ellington was presented in 2000 at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Beiteddine Festival, Lebanon, the Menton Festival, France, and the Bremen Music Festival in Germany. Jessye Norman sings an exciting and unusual operatic repertoire that includes the works of Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Schoenberg, Janacek, Bartok, Rameau, Wagner and Richard Strauss, at opera houses around the world, most notably The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Saito Kinen Music Festival, Salzburg Music Festival, the Festival at Aix-en-Provence, Philadelphia Opera and Chicago’s Lyric Opera. Numerous operatic appearances followed her Metropolitan Opera debut on opening night of the 100th anniversary season in 1983. The Makropulos Case of Leos Janacek, with Miss Norman in her acclaimed portrayal of Emilie Marty, was given its premier production at the Metropolitan Opera in 1996. In December of 1997, she was invested with the United States’ highest award in the performing arts, the Kennedy Center Honor, making history as the youngest recipient in the Honors’ twenty-year existence. Her many other prestigious awards and distinctions include honorary doctorates at some thirty colleges, universities and conservatories around the world. In 1984 the French government bestowed upon Miss Norman the title Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris named an orchid for her. In October 1989 French President Mitterand awarded her the Legion d’Honneur, and in June 1990 U.N. Secretary-General Xavier Perez de Cuellar named her Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations. Miss Norman was awarded the Radcliffe Medal in June of 1997 on the occasion of the annual luncheon of Harvard-Radcliffe alumni at Harvard Yard. In the autumn of 2000, Miss Norman received the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal in recognition of her humanitarian and civic contributions. In Augusta, Georgia, her hometown, the Amphitheatre and Plaza overlooking the tranquil Savannah River have been named for her. Miss Norman’s distinguished catalogue of recordings has won numerous awards, including France’s Grand Prix National du Disque for albums of lieder by Wagner, Schumann, Mahler and Schubert; London’s prestigious Gramophone Award for her outstanding interpretation of Strauss’ “Four Last Songs”; Amsterdam’s Edison Prize; and recording honors in Belgium, Spain and Germany. In the United States, her Grammy Award winning recordings include “Songs of Maurice Ravel,” and Wagner’s Lohengrin and Die Walküre. Bluebeard’s Castle with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra received the Grammy Award for best opera in February 1999. She was winner of an “Ace” Award from the National Academy of Cable Programming for “Jessye Norman at Notre Dame,” as seen on the Arts and Entertainment Television Network. In 2000, Jessye Norman released her first jazz CD to wide acclaim…I Was Born In Love With You, music of Michel Legrand, with Mr. Legrand at the piano, bassist Ron Carter and percussionist Grady Tate. In addition to her busy performance schedule, Miss Norman serves on the Boards of Directors for The New York Public Library, the New York Botanical Garden, Citymeals-on-Wheels in New York City, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The National Music Foundation and The Elton John AIDS Foundation. Miss Norman is a member of the board as well as National spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation, and national spokesperson for The Partnership for the Homeless. And in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia, she serves on the Board of Trustees of Paine College and The Augusta Opera Association. Also in Augusta, Georgia, the Jessye Norman School for the Arts began its first classes in September 2003. A relentless Girl Scout cookie seller, she is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of America. Miss Norman resides in New York State.

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1/19/04: Martin Luther King Day Celebration

The Kennedy Center and Georgetown University host a musical celebration featuring Jessye Norman and Georgetown University choirs, as part of Georgetown University’s “Let Freedom Ring” initiative celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Day Celebration

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