The great American opera star Jessye Norman had a voice that commanded the psyche and a mesmerizing presence that could turn silence into meaning.
That’s saying a lot, because Norman, whoMonday at age 74, had a voice that, in her prime, filled any room or arena with a glorious sound capable of taking over your psyche. She had a presence that could hypnotize an audience.
Yes, she made stock operatic characters come startlingly to life. Yes, she brought an intensity to Strauss’ “Four Last Songs,” to Isolde’s “Liebestod,” to Mahler’s “Song of the Earth,” all that end-of-days music that treads the line between life and death. She didn’t make all that much of an impression in these pages, however. Repeated appearances got increasing less play and were assigned to freelance reviewers. She was considered to have a very large voice but one lacking personality and, well, not always in control — magnificent if ungainly.
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