Page 48 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

Amazing Grace
Jessye Norman as the title role in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos, 1984
admiring clergy from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine declared Norman as possessing black girl magic before #BlackGirlMagic was
even a thing. He recalled asking
her to run away with him and he blushed at recounting that she had compassionately patted his hand and
replied, “Maybe someday.” Composer and friend Bruce Saylor longingly praised Norman’s interpretation
of Duke Ellington’s song “Is God a Three-Letter Word for Love?” and concluded his remarks with, “Jessye is a six-letter word for love.”
A noteworthy N ew York T imes review by Edward Rothstein was quoted likening her voice to a “grand mansion of sound. . . . It de nes an extraordinary space. It has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas. It contains sunlit rooms, narrow passageways, cavernous halls. Norman is the regal mistress of this domain, with a physical presence suited to her vocal expanse.”
Others commented on her uniquely wide range, and it was recounted that when asked if
she considered her voice to be a contralto or soprano she answered,
48 Classical Singer / Jan/Feb 2020
photo by Erika Davidson