Early life and musical education Norman was born in
Augusta, Georgia, to Silas Norman, an insurance salesman, and Janie King-Norman, a schoolteacher. She was one of five children in a well-to-do Black family of amateur musicians; her mother and grandmother were both pianists, and her father sang in a local choir. Norman and all of her siblings received piano lessons as children. Norman attended Charles T. Walker Elementary School. She proved to be a talented singer as a young child, singing gospel songs at Mount Calvary Baptist Church at the age of four. At church, she was greatly influenced by the singing of two women, Mrs. Golden and Sister Childs. At the age of seven, she entered her first vocal competition, placing third because of a memory slip in the second stanza of the hymn "God Will Take Care of You". She later said in interviews, "I guess He has taken care of me. That was my last memory slip in public." When Norman was nine she was given a radio for her birthday and soon discovered the world of opera through the weekly broadcasts of the
Metropolitan Opera, which she listened to every Saturday. She started listening to recordings of
Marian Anderson and
Leontyne Price, both of whom Norman credited as inspiring figures in her career. She received her first formal vocal coaching from Rosa Harris Sanders Creque, who was her music teacher at
A. R. Johnson Junior High School. She continued to take voice lessons privately with Ms. Sanders Creque while attending Lucy C. Laney Senior High School in downtown Augusta. Norman studied at the
Interlochen Center for the Arts in Northern Michigan in the opera performance program. At the age of 16, she entered the Marian Anderson Vocal Competition in
Philadelphia which, although she did not win, led to an offer of a full scholarship at
Howard University, in
Washington, D.C. While at Howard, studying voice with Carolyn Grant, she sang in the university chorus and as a soloist at the Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ. In 1964, she became a member of
Gamma Sigma Sigma The Alpha Eta Chapter.Where she was also Chapter President In 1965, along with 33 other female students and four female faculty, Norman became a founding member of the Delta Nu chapter of
Sigma Alpha Iota music
fraternity. In 1966, she won the
National Society of Arts and Letters singing competition. After graduating in 1967 with a degree in music, she began graduate studies at the
Peabody Conservatory in
Baltimore and later at the
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, from which she earned a master's degree in 1968. During this time, Norman studied voice with
Elizabeth Mannion and
Pierre Bernac.
Early career (1968–1979) After graduating, Norman, like many American young musicians at the time, moved to Europe to establish herself. In 1968, she won the
ARD International Music Competition in Munich. The following year, she began a three-year contract with the
Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she first appeared as Elisabeth in Wagner's
Tannhäuser. Norman performed as a guest with German and Italian opera companies, often portraying noble characters convincingly, both by appearance and by unique voice which was both flexible and powerful. Her voice range was wide, from
contralto registers to
dramatic soprano. In 1970, she appeared in
Florence in the title role in Handel's
Deborah. In 1971, she sang at the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in the role of Sélika in Meyerbeer's ''
L'Africaine''. The same year, she portrayed Countess Almaviva in Mozart's
Le nozze di Figaro, alongside
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the count at the
Berlin Festival, and recorded the role with the
BBC Orchestra conducted by
Colin Davis. The recording was a finalist for the Montreux International Record Award competition and exposed her to music listeners in Europe and the United States. In 1972, Norman made her first appearance at
La Scala, where she sang the title role in Verdi's
Aida and at
The Royal Opera at
Covent Garden, London, where she appeared as Cassandra in
Les Troyens by Berlioz. Norman was Aida again in a
concert version that same year in her first well-publicized American performance at the
Hollywood Bowl for the venue's 50th anniversary celebration. This was followed by an all-Wagner concert at the
Tanglewood Music Festival in
Lenox, Massachusetts, and a recital tour of the country, after which she returned to Europe for several engagements. Norman briefly returned to the United States to give her first New York City recital as part of the "Great Performers" series in
Alice Tully Hall at
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1973. In 1975, Norman moved to London and had no staged opera appearances for the next five years. She remained internationally active as a recitalist and soloist in works such as Mendelssohn's
Elijah and Franck's
Les Béatitudes. Norman returned to North America again in 1976 and 1977 to make an extensive concert tour. Norman toured Europe throughout the 1970s, giving recitals of works by
Schubert,
Mahler, Wagner,
Brahms,
Satie,
Messiaen, and several contemporary American composers, to great critical acclaim.
Mid-career (1980–1989) , 1982 In October 1980, Norman returned to the operatic stage in the title role of
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss at the
Hamburg State Opera in Germany. Her first operatic appearance in the United States came in 1982 at the
Opera Company of Philadelphia, where she appeared as Jocasta in Stravinsky's
Oedipus rex, and as Purcell's
Dido. On July 18 she sang Didon in a concert performance of the second part of Berlioz's
Les Troyens (as
Les Troyens à Carthage), conducted by
Gennady Rozhdestvensky. The performance was broadcast on
BBC Radio 3, and an audio recording exists. Her stage debut at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York City was on September 26, 1983, the opening night of the company's 100th-anniversary season, when she portrayed Cassandre in
Berlioz's
Les Troyens with
Plácido Domingo as Aeneas,
Tatiana Troyanos as Didon, and
James Levine conducting. According to
Donal Henahan, the music critic of
The New York Times, "she sang grippingly and projected well, even when placed well back in the cavernous sets." A video recording has been issued on DVD and is available for streaming at the Met Opera on Demand website. On October 12 and 17, the fifth and sixth performances in the run of nine, she sang Didon with
William Lewis as Aeneas and Gwynn Cornell as Cassandre. Reviewing the October 12 performance,
Edward Rothstein of
The New York Times reported that "she created a Carthaginian Queen who was both regal and vulnerable. It was a subtle and affecting dramatic portrait.... Her farewell aria was fluid and seductive, suggesting in its timbre both sensuous pleasures and death." On February 8, the seventh performance of the series, she returned to the role of Cassandre, with Edward Sooter as Aeneas and Troyanos as Didon, but replaced Troyanos as Didon for act 5. On February 13, the eighth performance, she again sang Didon, with Sooter as Aeneas and Cornell as Cassandre, and on February 18, the ninth and final performance of the series, she sang both Cassandre and Didon, with Sooter as Aeneas. Regarding the last performance,
The New York Times reported that "the audience gave Miss Norman a 15-minute standing ovation that brought her back to the stage more than a half dozen times." The performance was broadcast on the
Metropolitan Opera Radio, and an audio recording is available. Norman programmed recitals innovatively, including contemporary music. She commissioned the song cycle
woman.life.song by composer
Judith Weir, a work premiered at
Carnegie Hall, with texts by
Toni Morrison,
Maya Angelou and
Clarissa Pinkola Estés. In a review of a recital at
Alice Tully Hall,
Bernard Holland wrote in
The New York Times that she "carefully gauged her seemingly limitless resources to fit the changing textures of her material". After a recital at Carnegie Hall,
Allen Hughes wrote in the same newpaper that Norman "has one of the most opulent voices before the public today, and, as discriminating listeners are aware, her performances are backed by extraordinary preparation, both musical and otherwise." According to
Encyclopædia Britannica: "By the mid-1980s she was one of the most popular and highly regarded dramatic soprano singers in the world." She was invited to sing at the
second inauguration of U.S. President
Ronald Reagan on January 21, 1985; she performed "
Simple Gifts" from
Aaron Copland's
Old American Songs at the ceremony. In 1986, Norman sang
God Save the Queen for Queen
Elizabeth II's 60th-birthday celebration. That same year, she appeared as a soloist in Strauss's
Four Last Songs with the
Berlin Philharmonic during its tour of the United States. Over the years, Norman expanded her talent into less familiar areas. In 1988, she sang a concert performance of
Poulenc's one-act opera
La voix humaine ("The Human Voice"), based on
Jean Cocteau's 1930
play of the same name. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Norman produced numerous award-winning recordings, and many of her performances were televised. In addition to opera, many of Norman's recordings and performances during this time focused on art songs, lieder, oratorios, and orchestral works. Her interpretation of the
Four Last Songs is especially acclaimed, as "the tonal qualities of her voice were ideal for these final works of the great Romantic German lieder tradition". Norman also performed
Arnold Schoenberg's
Gurre-Lieder and his one-woman opera
Erwartung. In 1989, she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera for a performance of
Erwartung that marked the company's first single-character production. It was presented in a double bill with Bartók's ''
Bluebeard's Castle'', with Norman playing Judith. Both operas were broadcast nationally. That same year, she was the featured soloist with
Zubin Mehta and the
New York Philharmonic in the opening concert of its 148th season, which PBS telecast live. She performed at the
Hong Kong Cultural Centre opening and gave a recital at the
National Theater and Concert Hall in
Taipei. Also in 1989, Norman was invited to sing the French national anthem,
La Marseillaise, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the
French Revolution on July 14. Her rendition was delivered at the
Place de la Concorde in Paris, in a costume designed by
Azzedine Alaïa as part of an elaborate pageant orchestrated by avant-garde designer
Jean-Paul Goude. This event was the inspiration that led the South African poet Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu to write a poem titled "I Shall Be Heard" dedicated to Norman. The poem appears in Ndlovu's book of poems
In Quiet Realm, the foreword to which is penned by Norman.
Later life (1990–2019) From the early 1990s, Norman lived in
Croton-on-Hudson, New York, in a secluded estate known as "White Gates", which was previously owned by television personality
Allen Funt. She performed at
Tchaikovsky's 150th Birthday Gala in
Leningrad and appeared at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago in the title role of Gluck's
Alceste in 1990. She sang American spirituals with soprano
Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall that year. The following year, she performed in a concert recorded live with
Lawrence Foster and the
Lyon Opera Orchestra at
Notre-Dame de Paris. Norman sang Jocasta in Stravinsky's
Oedipus rex at the opening operatic production at the new
Saito Kinen Festival in the
Japanese Alps near
Matsumoto in 1992. The following year, she sang the title role in the Metropolitan Opera's production of
Ariadne auf Naxos. In 1994, Norman sang at the funeral of former first lady
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She was again the featured soloist with the New York Philharmonic, then conducted by
Kurt Masur, in a gala concert telecast for the opening of the orchestra's 153rd season in 1995. She gave a highly lauded performance as the title character of Janáček's
The Makropulos Affair when it was first performed at the Met in 1996. Norman performed at the
1996 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in
Atlanta, singing "Faster, Higher, Stronger". In December of the same year, she put on a
benefit concert to fight
AIDS with
Maya Angelou,
Whoopi Goldberg,
Elton John, and
Toni Morrison. In January 1997, she performed at the
second inauguration of U.S. President
Bill Clinton, singing, "Oh freedom!". In 1998, she performed a recital at Carnegie Hall incorporating
sacred music by Duke Ellington, scored for jazz combo, string quartet and piano. She sang Mahler's
Das Lied von der Erde, with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Seiji Ozawa. A Christmas television program was filmed in her home town. A spring recital tour in 1999 included performances in Tel Aviv. In the following season, she appeared at the
Salzburg Festival. In 1999, Norman collaborated with choreographer-dancer
Bill T. Jones in a project for New York City's Lincoln Center, called "How! Do! We! Do!" In 2000, she released an album,
I Was Born in Love with You, featuring the songs of
Michel Legrand. The recording, reviewed as a jazz crossover project, featured Legrand on piano,
Ron Carter on bass, and
Grady Tate on drums. In February and March 2001, Norman was featured at Carnegie Hall in a three-part concert series. With
James Levine as her pianist, the concerts were a significant arts event, replete with an 80-page program booklet featuring a newly commissioned watercolor portrait of Norman by
David Hockney. In 2002, Norman performed at the opening of Singapore's
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. On March 11, 2002, Norman performed "
America the Beautiful" at a service unveiling two monumental columns of light at the site of the former
World Trade Center, as a memorial for the victims of the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City. In 2002, she returned to Augusta to announce that she would fund a pilot school of the arts for children in
Richmond County. Classes commenced at St. John United Methodist Church in the fall of 2003. In November 2004, a documentary about Norman's life and work was directed by
André Heller and as director of photography, documenting her music as well as political and social issues. In 2006, Norman collaborated with the modern dance choreographer
Trey McIntyre for a special performance during the summer at the
Vail Dance Festival. In 2003, the Rachel Longstreet Foundation and Norman partnered to open the
Jessye Norman School of the Arts, a tuition-free
performing arts after-school program for economically disadvantaged students in
Augusta, Georgia. Norman was actively involved in the program, including fundraisers for its benefit. In March 2009, Norman curated
Honor!, a celebration of the African-American cultural legacy. The festival honored African-American trailblazers and artists with concerts, recitals, lectures, panel discussions, and exhibitions hosted by
Carnegie Hall, the
Apollo Theater, the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and other sites around New York City. Norman served on the boards of directors for Carnegie Hall, City-Meals-on-Wheels in New York City, the
Dance Theatre of Harlem, the
New York Botanical Garden, the
New York Public Library, National Music Foundation, and the
Elton John AIDS Foundation. She was a member of the board and spokesperson for the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, and also spokesperson for Partnership for the Homeless. She served on the board of trustees of the Augusta Opera Association and of
Paine College. In March 2013, the Apollo Theater and
Manhattan School of Music featured Norman in
Ask Your Mama, a 90-minute multimedia show by
Laura Karpman based on
Langston Hughes's "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz". In March 2014, Norman was featured at
Green Music Center Weill Hall on the campus of
Sonoma State University in
Rohnert Park, California (
Sonoma County), in a recital of American standards in tributes to the likes of
George Gershwin,
Duke Ellington and
Ella Fitzgerald. In 2015, she and pianist Mark Markham presented a program of mainly Gershwin, Kern, and Rodgers and Hart at
Carnegie Hall with a few art songs by Satie and Poulenc. On May 6, 2014,
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Norman's memoir,
Stand Up Straight and Sing! In April 2018, Norman was honored as the twelfth recipient of the
Glenn Gould Prize for her contribution to opera and the arts.
Death and memorial Norman suffered a
spinal cord injury in 2015. She died at
Mount Sinai Morningside in Manhattan on September 30, 2019, aged 74. The cause of death was given as "
septic shock and multi-organ failure secondary to complications of" the spinal cord injury. In September 2021, it was reported that Norman's brother had pursued legal action for alleged medical negligence against the doctors and hospital involved in an operation on her in 2015. Norman's public funeral was held in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia. Actor
Laurence Fishburne, sociologist
Michael Eric Dyson, Carnegie Hall's
Clive Gillinson, civil rights activist
Vernon Jordan, and Mayor
Hardie Davis spoke. The mezzo soprano
J'Nai Bridges; jazz musician
Wycliffe Gordon; and students from
Morehouse College,
Spelman College, and the Jessye Norman School of the Arts performed. Norman was memorialized with a gala tribute at the
Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, on November 24, 2019. Among the speakers and performers at the public remembrance were
Anna Deavere Smith;
Gloria Steinem; the former
Minister of Culture of France,
Jack Lang;
Eric Owens; The
Dance Theatre of Harlem; the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater;
Peter Gelb; and
Renée Fleming. In an episode of the
BBC Radio 4 programme
Great Lives broadcast in September 2023, Norman was the choice of
Chi-chi Nwanoku. ==Awards and nominations==