Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Leontyne Price

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:

Leontyne Price

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to what can only be described as...The True Divas. These are ones that may do many things in life, but from the moment they opened their mouths to sing they became the one thing they were meant to become: a true diva.

One such lionheart...

Leontyne Price.

Incomparable. Groundbreaking. Gifted.

Breath of life, breath of fire, breath of fresh air.

A pure diva.

In her time, she broke through so many ceilings. The woman could move mountains.

To be so powerful, and to know your gift so well... so few have ever come close.

Price achieved one of the greatest artistic victories of her career on January 27, 1961, when she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. This performance ignited a 42-minute ovation, one of the longest in the Met's history.

To have lived life with such elegance and grace, all the while shining like a beacon of inspiration.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Being Black

If you are going to think black, think positive about it. Don't think down on it, or think it is something in your way. And this way, when you really do want to stretch out and express how beautiful black is, everybody will hear you.

The way I was taught, being black was a plus, always. Being a human being, being in America, and being black, all three were the greatest things that could happen to you. The combination was unbeatable.

Be black, shine, aim high.

All token Blacks have the same experience. I have been pointed at as a solution to things that have not yet begun to be solved, because pointing at us token Blacks eases consciences of millions, and this is dreadfully wrong.

I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The color of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to.

Accomplishments have no color.

O Patria Mia - Leontyne Price

from Verdi's Aida

on The Voice Of Firestone, 1963

Senza Mamma - Leontyne Price, 

from Puccini's Suor Angelica 

Munich, 1968

Chi il bel sogno di Doretta - La Rondine - Leontyne Price

And one parting shot...

"You should always know when you're shifting gears in life. You should leave your era; it should never leave you."