She was 58 and this was her final opera performance, though she continued doing concerts and recitals for many years after this, still with vocal powers undiminished. She was one of a kind. I know of no soprano who could produce a high C like that at age 58. Unbelievable performance, and certainly superior to anyone who takes on this difficult role today. Probably the Aida of the Twentieth Century.
I was today years old when I found out that Leontyne is Whitney Houston’s mother’s (Cissy Houston) cousin. The talent of this entire family is astonishing
My best friend (and my boss) was a Leontyne Price fanatic so I painted a leather jacket with all Leontyne for her and when we met Leontyne (I was the opera buyer for Tower Records Castro San Francisco), Leontyne could not believe her eyes. She was so sweet to us, when we were kind of outcasts at the SF Opera House because my best friend had bright red hair and I had bright blue. She called my best friend on her birthday and how does that even happen? Leontyne is a goddess, IMO. Above and beyond her gorgeous voice and performances, she's so deeply kind, when the opera world has not always been so kind to her. Leontyne is my role model, though I can't sing.
I've watched this on the The Met On Demand a couple of times. Price is certainly the queen of all Aidas, but the way the audience ERUPTED for Fiorenza Cossotto's Amneris is like nothing I've ever seen.
The ascent to the high C, and the descent, are perfectly controlled, radiant and seamless. Beyond the reach of ordinary sopranos. The hair on my arms and neck stood on end. Truly, truly great.
As gorgeous as that moment was, for me it's the last note... the perfect pitch, the unwavering dynamic control, and the exquisitely-deployed vibrato are almost otherworldly. I probably would have fainted if I had be lucky enough to have heard it "live"!
After a lifetime listening to opera, attending scores of performances, in multiple opera houses, my all-time favorite aria is this, Price's 'O patria mia.' For me, it defines singing.
@@dorothydanso9820 I'm Newsweek Science Editor Charles Panati (Hudson), physicist, pianist, opera buff, I met Price in 1967, NYC, the same year Montserrat Caballe cooked me her special Paella. Caballe was a great cook, with incomparable pianissimos. Price was always warm and regal. My dear friend Allen Oxenburg was founder and director of the American Opera Society. Those were the days.
@@vitabella6481 This was definitely not her best night and she is near the end of her career here; but still this is one of the best recordings of O Patria Mia up till now!
She is absolutely incredible. It's completely out of all the rankings, out of all the competition. When she opens her mouth and starts her "bitter" soprano, she makes me dizzy. I've never heard anything at least close to that. Leontyne, I will always love you
I heard her say "You have to burn the midnight oil," in order to really work at your craft, and, indeed, she did. I don't think I have seen anyone like her since. I have watched them all -- they just don't have the drive, talent, musicianship and the capabilities that this great lady of the opera does (I keep it in the present, because, she claims she still warms up to a high F every day). Thank you, Ms. Price for your lesson to us all. And great gift.
People forget that, along with Callas, Schwarzkopf and Christa Ludwig, Price is one of the greatest female singing musicians of the 20th century. The breadth of her repertoire - just in recital! - is amazing. That she can capture the essence of disparate pieces like "Pace, Pace," Barber's Hermit Songs. "Sinner Please," "Or Sai Chi L'Onore" and Rusalka's Song to the Moon so personally is highly overlooked. I really see Price as Elisabeth Rethberg's heir as opposed to Zinka Milanov's., even though she primarily took over the Milanov roles during her time at the Met.
Indisputably America's greatest gift to opera in any century. Bless her for sacrificing so much to evoke herself to art. People don't realize the true cost.
When Verdi was composing this wonderful opera, he would never have imagined that one day he would be born a soprano worthy of the role. And now we're listening to Leontyne Price, who was born to the role.
That sound you heard was not loud breath, but dramatics that the role requires. Listen carefully again. Her technique allows for pure perfection in all she does and what she does is O so deliberate. She is perfection
This is the best aria ever sung - not only the voice, but her image and posture are more than perfect - which makes this a masterpiece. She tells a story that everyone can believe and cherish. thanks for posting!
Other singers conquer the hurdles the aria presents, but Price molds the hurdles into a poignant, integrated whole where everything speaks to the character's plaintive lament for her homeland.
oh i so wish you’d kept the ovation! her face as she takes it all in, emotion breaking through the stoicism and resolve… just extraordinary. thank you for posting
UNA DELLE PIÙ GRANDI IN ASSOLUTO.....AVREBBERO VOLUTO LA CALLAS, TEBALDI E COMPAGNIA, P0SSEDERE UNA VOCE SIMILE : INTONAZIONE PERFETTA, ESTENSIONE INCREDIBILE, FLUIDITÀ E APPOGGIO SUL FIATO MAGISTRALE!!!!!!! COSI SI CANTA!!!!!!
Happy 95th birthday, my friend, Miss Tyne!! Your voice will never be any older than our memories of you, especially on this video. Have a very happy day, and may you have many *happy* returns of the day!!✨🤗✨
I was in the Village when I met Leontyne walking with her manager. We stopped and chatted brieflly. It was the day of her dress rehearsal for her debut. I wished her well. I was at the memorable debut, unforgettable.
Evelyn Pugh I saw Price sing AIDA at The Met in New York City in the 70s. Her performance was utterly astounding ! I also saw AIDA at The Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It was an over-the-top, mind blowing production.
There are no words to describe how amazing she was that night. Simply the best. And she was so smart to go out when she was at the top of her game. WONDERFUL.
😂😜😂😂😂😂 you seem to have never heard good singing. There very so many better singers than her in the last century. Quite everybody before her. I guess the time was ready to sell a black singer, no matter the quality of her singing. Bumbrys or Verrets technique where much better by the way.
Vita bella. Yours is a stupid, insulting and racist comment. Shows you what she was up against if that kind of attitude is still around almost 60 years after her Met debut.
@@vitabella6481 Why did you even watch it? Your JEALOUSY is a mental neurosis. What a miserable existence to troll black excellence in some racial competition born from your own self loathing and crippling insecurity. People like you are truly sad. What a self imposed prison you live in. You must be old and if not you have a lot of miserable bitter years left to troll Beauty. Sad.💯
@@vitabella6481 Pavarotti said "the human instinct is best" when speaking about greatness in singing. Because it isn't just about technique. There is nothing in the singing, that isn't already in the singer. Price could make notes that would leave the listener in awed silence, tears in their eyes, the hair standing on their arms. That is the visceral human response to hearing something extraordinary.
3 octaves from Laurel, Mississippi ❣️ Her magnificence at the end has me fighting not to cry...such an amazing presence... Try "owning" a musical note at length, any note...Pardon me: ⚘️⚘️⚘️DIVA!!!⚘️⚘️⚘️
The bluesy-gospel inflections that Leontyne brings to her art make her singing incredibly personal and unique... I see her in this role and I think this is an African-American singing of her lost African homeland...
I saw/heard Ms. Price at a community concert at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon at the beginning of her career in the late 1950s. As a young teenager, I had never heard opera or thought I would like it. Needless to say, I was impressed! And, although I never became a great opera fan, I always followed her career and even listened to and saw some opera in my lifetime! Thank you for introducing me to another form of music that I learned to respect!
Iam in total awe of this awesome Diva There have been many voices but none have touched me the way this grand Diva has touched me l was intrduced to her as a kid and to this very day still am overwhelmed with emotion that no other artist has been abled to match She is a voice of voices l love the era the voice and the grand persona brings with it There is but one voice such as Miss Price To this day l know of no star that can match this performance all hail the pueen
A bunch of us who sang in the chorus of the local opera company got together to watch this on PBS. We stuffed our faces after Act I. Some left, disappointed -- then came the rest of the opera. We ran out of tissues and had to rob the toilet roll!
This is My first time hearing her the moment she first opened her mouth I fell in love with her voice. Also just saw Mariah Carey’s interview where she said MsPrice and mariahs mother shared the same opera mentor.
I'm here because I just picked up a laserdisc of Aida. It was part of an "Opera Stories" series narrated by Chuck "Don't Take My Guns!" Heston. The performance is from 1981, and OMG...they're wearing blackface. I've never seen the opera before, and probably first heard of it at the end of a lovely song by "10,000 Maniacs" from around 1991.
She was 58 and this was her final opera performance, though she continued doing concerts and recitals for many years after this, still with vocal powers undiminished. She was one of a kind. I know of no soprano who could produce a high C like that at age 58. Unbelievable performance, and certainly superior to anyone who takes on this difficult role today. Probably the Aida of the Twentieth Century.
58 and she did this! Unbelievable
I know some who can't properly sip soup at 58. To be able to cause the walls of the MET to resound like this. My goodness.
Absolutely Absolutely Absolutely very Beea❤❤❤😢😢😅😅
Magnificent ❤
Phenomenal!
I was today years old when I found out that Leontyne is Whitney Houston’s mother’s (Cissy Houston) cousin. The talent of this entire family is astonishing
OMG No way
@Johan Jaziel nice relationship you have, dunce.
Nice !
@@garygary978 Yep very so true that family has musicians and singers all thru
Which makes sense. If you listen to Whitney's voice it's sort of operatic
My best friend (and my boss) was a Leontyne Price fanatic so I painted a leather jacket with all Leontyne for her and when we met Leontyne (I was the opera buyer for Tower Records Castro San Francisco), Leontyne could not believe her eyes. She was so sweet to us, when we were kind of outcasts at the SF Opera House because my best friend had bright red hair and I had bright blue. She called my best friend on her birthday and how does that even happen? Leontyne is a goddess, IMO. Above and beyond her gorgeous voice and performances, she's so deeply kind, when the opera world has not always been so kind to her. Leontyne is my role model, though I can't sing.
I WAS THERE ,AT LAST TWO PERFORMANCES !!!! ....🤩
Lucky, lucky you!
@@dawnf.2182 really , YES !!!! THANK YOU!
I've watched this on the The Met On Demand a couple of times. Price is certainly the queen of all Aidas, but the way the audience ERUPTED for Fiorenza Cossotto's Amneris is like nothing I've ever seen.
Is it true that the second to last was even better than the last?
Sick of the corruption and conflict of contemporary events? Just listen to Leontyne Price.............and escape into perfection.
Amen!
Dear God in Heaven....thank you for sharing this woman's blessing with us in the world.
This Lady my friend. Arnold Bourbon Amaral
🪽🎼🎵🪽🪽🩷🪽🪽💫
The ascent to the high C, and the descent, are perfectly controlled, radiant and seamless. Beyond the reach of ordinary sopranos. The hair on my arms and neck stood on end. Truly, truly great.
As gorgeous as that moment was, for me it's the last note... the perfect pitch, the unwavering dynamic control, and the exquisitely-deployed vibrato are almost otherworldly. I probably would have fainted if I had be lucky enough to have heard it "live"!
@@ericholck272 I love the portamenti (ascent to the high notes) which she does so perfectly - love her singing - it is coming from the heart
Sat in row P center of the orchestra for this performance....utter bliss!
I know of no other soprano who can match her for sheer vocal beauty combined with such emotional expressiveness and intensity. We are truly blessed.
After a lifetime listening to opera, attending scores of performances, in multiple opera houses, my all-time favorite aria is this, Price's 'O patria mia.' For me, it defines singing.
Who are you, @Charles Hudson?
@@dorothydanso9820 I'm Newsweek Science Editor Charles Panati (Hudson), physicist, pianist, opera buff, I met Price in 1967, NYC, the same year Montserrat Caballe cooked me her special Paella. Caballe was a great cook, with incomparable pianissimos. Price was always warm and regal. My dear friend Allen Oxenburg was founder and director of the American Opera Society. Those were the days.
@@charleshudson5330 OMG! I Can only dream of such a life.! Thanks for your gracious response.
For me, Leontyn Price is the epitome of Aida. She is absolutely incomparable in this role.
True definition of DIVA! Did you see the expression on Leontyne's face at the end? She knew that performance was PRICELESS!!!! #queenleontyne
that voice was not human was celestial God bless her
Yes, bad singing sold as gold.
@@vitabella6481 bad singing sis please. You just mad she can hit a high C. Keep her name out of your mouth.
@@vitabella6481 This was definitely not her best night and she is near the end of her career here; but still this is one of the best recordings of O Patria Mia up till now!
#queenleontyne
One of the most Beautiful voices to Ever sing opera. Ms.Leontine price ❤❤❤❤❤❤😅😅😅
She is absolutely incredible. It's completely out of all the rankings, out of all the competition. When she opens her mouth and starts her "bitter" soprano, she makes me dizzy. I've never heard anything at least close to that. Leontyne, I will always love you
Flawless, soft as silk! Her neck is so relaxed despite the incredible work she does with her voice! Extraordinary!
Leontyne Price without a doubt is and always will be the Aida of Giuseppe Verdi's dreams.
I saw Price sing AIDA at The Met in New York City in the 70s. Her performance was utterly astounding !
No woman will ever, EVER, sing like this again. Thank God for Leontyne and recordings.
I heard her say "You have to burn the midnight oil," in order to really work at your craft, and, indeed, she did. I don't think I have seen anyone like her since. I have watched them all -- they just don't have the drive, talent, musicianship and the capabilities that this great lady of the opera does (I keep it in the present, because, she claims she still warms up to a high F every day). Thank you, Ms. Price for your lesson to us all. And great gift.
People forget that, along with Callas, Schwarzkopf and Christa Ludwig, Price is one of the greatest female singing musicians of the 20th century. The breadth of her repertoire - just in recital! - is amazing. That she can capture the essence of disparate pieces like "Pace, Pace," Barber's Hermit Songs. "Sinner Please," "Or Sai Chi L'Onore" and Rusalka's Song to the Moon so personally is highly overlooked. I really see Price as Elisabeth Rethberg's heir as opposed to Zinka Milanov's., even though she primarily took over the Milanov roles during her time at the Met.
Ora capisco perché viene considerata la miglior Aida di sempre. Stupefacente.
Indisputably America's greatest gift to opera in any century. Bless her for sacrificing so much to evoke herself to art. People don't realize the true cost.
Amen!
Everytime I see this performance I get goose bumps. Leontyne was born for this! Her voice's simply amazing.
When Verdi was composing this wonderful opera, he would never have imagined that one day he would be born a soprano worthy of the role. And now we're listening to Leontyne Price, who was born to the role.
That sound you heard was not loud breath, but dramatics that the role requires. Listen carefully again. Her technique allows for pure perfection in all she does and what she does is O so deliberate. She is perfection
Orland Bailey Tell it!!!
Yess!!
The Applause speaks for itself amen and Glory Hallelujah! You got to love it. She's 91 years old still going strong my leontyne price!
This is the best aria ever sung - not only the voice, but her image and posture are more than perfect - which makes this a masterpiece.
She tells a story that everyone can believe and cherish. thanks for posting!
Other singers conquer the hurdles the aria presents, but Price molds the hurdles into a poignant, integrated whole where everything speaks to the character's plaintive lament for her homeland.
oh i so wish you’d kept the ovation! her face as she takes it all in, emotion breaking through the stoicism and resolve… just extraordinary. thank you for posting
UNA DELLE PIÙ GRANDI IN ASSOLUTO.....AVREBBERO VOLUTO LA CALLAS, TEBALDI E COMPAGNIA, P0SSEDERE UNA VOCE SIMILE : INTONAZIONE PERFETTA, ESTENSIONE INCREDIBILE, FLUIDITÀ E APPOGGIO SUL FIATO MAGISTRALE!!!!!!! COSI SI CANTA!!!!!!
Questa scuola non esiste piu.
Con grande dispiacere.
Happy 95th birthday, my friend, Miss Tyne!! Your voice will never be any older than our memories of you, especially on this video. Have a very happy day, and may you have many *happy* returns of the day!!✨🤗✨
I saw Leontyne Price in Aida at the San Francisco Opera house and it was superb! She is Aida! What a spectacular performance!
She is Now in Her 90s
Thumbs up for that feat alone
This calms my spirit, completely
I saw her on stage several times, but never in Aida. It was always a privilege and a treat to see her and hear her.
I was in the Village when I met Leontyne walking with her manager. We stopped and chatted brieflly. It was the day of her dress rehearsal for her debut. I wished her well. I was at the memorable debut, unforgettable.
She is definetely not from this planet....Oh my.....She has put a spell on us. Nobody will ever sing this as she does here.
oh my word she made me feel as though I was leaving my country never to see it again,so beautiful I'm literally in tears. love love love
Oh, if only I could have witnessed her sublime performance in Aida, one of my favorite operas!
Evelyn Pugh I saw Price sing AIDA at The Met in New York City in the 70s. Her performance was utterly astounding ! I also saw AIDA at The Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It was an over-the-top, mind blowing production.
Lol. you eye witnessed her performances! I'm so jealous, all I have are her wonderful recordings!
I saw her perform Aida broadcast from the Met on television years ago. What a voice to hear even without the advent of good sound then,
EvelyEvelyn
This role has never had a more beautiful interpreter, than Ms Price! The sounds of all humanity, are in her mellifluous instrument! Such beauty! 💞👏
Yes!
5:59 WOW, her high note was so clean, clear, and resonant! This lady has a beautiful voice! 😍❤️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
There are no words to describe how amazing she was that night. Simply the best. And she was so smart to go out when she was at the top of her game. WONDERFUL.
Stunning!! Magical!! Historical!!
At 58!! She was one of the greatest voices of the 20th century.
Maybe of ANY century.
That High C !!
😂😜😂😂😂😂 you seem to have never heard good singing. There very so many better singers than her in the last century. Quite everybody before her. I guess the time was ready to sell a black singer, no matter the quality of her singing. Bumbrys or Verrets technique where much better by the way.
Vita bella. Yours is a stupid, insulting and racist comment. Shows you what she was up against if that kind of attitude is still around almost 60 years after her Met debut.
@David Perkins Thank you very much for putting the Queen Of The KuKluxKlan in her place!
@@vitabella6481 Why did you even watch it? Your JEALOUSY is a mental neurosis. What a miserable existence to troll black excellence in some racial competition born from your own self loathing and crippling insecurity. People like you are truly sad. What a self imposed prison you live in. You must be old and if not you have a lot of miserable bitter years left to troll Beauty. Sad.💯
@@vitabella6481 Pavarotti said "the human instinct is best" when speaking about greatness in singing. Because it isn't just about technique. There is nothing in the singing, that isn't already in the singer. Price could make notes that would leave the listener in awed silence, tears in their eyes, the hair standing on their arms. That is the visceral human response to hearing something extraordinary.
The diamonds, rubies, and pearls of the soprano voice. A DIVINE gift to the world!
She still moves me to tears.
Brings tears to my eyes...her voice is so wonderfully sublime! Pristine and perfect in every way.
Thank you for posting,
Cheers!
3 octaves from Laurel, Mississippi ❣️
Her magnificence at the end has me fighting not to cry...such an amazing presence...
Try "owning" a musical note at length, any note...Pardon me: ⚘️⚘️⚘️DIVA!!!⚘️⚘️⚘️
Goosebumps all over no matter how many times I’ve heard this aria!! What a brilliant & beautiful artist Ms. Leontyne Price is 💖
The bluesy-gospel inflections that Leontyne brings to her art make her
singing incredibly personal and unique... I see her in this role and I
think this is an African-American singing of her lost African
homeland...
Just mesmerizing. So superb, WOW!
Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful voices❤
A once in a lifetime voice. Simply stunning! The lioness!
WOW, simply the best, what a voice!
Just unbelievable! PERIOD!!
Thank you leotyne Price..you are the best ❤💖.
Oh my God ❤️ thank you for this beautiful angel
Amazing and gifted from God!!!
Truly incredible. 60 years old almost. Incredible voice.
Happy 93rd Life Anniversary
February 10, 2020
Queen Leontyne Price
Greatest Of Them All!
Pure power, clear and controlled. She has a speaker in her throat. A true operatic voice
I saw/heard Ms. Price at a community concert at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon at the beginning of her career in the late 1950s. As a young teenager, I had never heard opera or thought I would like it. Needless to say, I was impressed! And, although I never became a great opera fan, I always followed her career and even listened to and saw some opera in my lifetime! Thank you for introducing me to another form of music that I learned to respect!
Absolutely amazing, fabulous, such openness
the best performance ever.
Perfect voice stamp for this role.
love her Italian pronunciation that make her a real Ethiopian Aida
Didn't they stop Italy from invading? Meaning that her Italian pronunciation would not help to prove she is Ethiopian at all
She could have went on singing at least another 10 years. She was phenomenal!
Truly historic and gorgeous woman and moment. God bless you Ms. Price and your family.
Iam in total awe of this awesome Diva There have been many voices but none have touched me the way this grand Diva has touched me l was intrduced to her as a kid and to this very day still am overwhelmed with emotion that no other artist has been abled to match She is a voice of voices l love the era the voice and the grand persona brings with it There is but one voice such as Miss Price To this day l know of no star that can match this performance all hail the pueen
The best voice of the 20th century the best performer.Regal !!!
Maravilhosa. Que voz agradável de escutar.
Still (2020) the best !!!!!!!!!!
Very Daunting... hope I can do it justice. Leontyne transcended the song and got it is very core.Beautiful!
Oh my!What a beautiful voice,what marvelous control.
I cry every time 😩
Blessed to still be living!!! God has blessed Her with Longevity.
My God, this is astonishing.
A bunch of us who sang in the chorus of the local opera company got together to watch this on PBS. We stuffed our faces after Act I. Some left, disappointed -- then came the rest of the opera. We ran out of tissues and had to rob the toilet roll!
Whoa this was Magnificent
The best spinto soprano in opera music
Happy 91st Life Anniversary - Saturday, February 10, 2018
Grand Opera Soprano Queen Leontyne Price
And She Shall Reign Forever & Ever!
Supreme Excellence! I'm so happy to run across this again! My gosh!👀👀👑👑👑👑👑💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞🎙🎙🎙🎙
Deslumbrante , La Price !!!!!!!!!!!
... Magnífica !!!!!!!!
2 people thought dislike meant "dis I like!!!"
La plus grande, la plus belle "AIDA" que j'ai entendue !
This is My first time hearing her the moment she first opened her mouth I fell in love with her voice. Also just saw Mariah Carey’s interview where she said MsPrice and mariahs mother shared the same opera mentor.
And MsPrice is Whitney Houston's mom's cousin
@@enternalmoonlight No.
@@liedersanger1 yes
lol if I put this costume on do you think i would have her high C"
uhhh... sorry renee I dont think so ;-)
babs22hh .....shady.....however!😎
That's so funny!
I suoi acuti sono limpidissimi....il colore della voce è magnifico..
She and Callas were the standard.
So so beautiful ❤
I'm here because I just picked up a laserdisc of Aida. It was part of an "Opera Stories" series narrated by Chuck "Don't Take My Guns!" Heston. The performance is from 1981, and OMG...they're wearing blackface.
I've never seen the opera before, and probably first heard of it at the end of a lovely song by "10,000 Maniacs" from around 1991.
Gorgeous in every way!
Wow beautiful ❤🎉
Wonderful
She is the best
Meravigliosamente Bravissima🙏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💐❤🌸🌺😘
Incredible!
Stellar
Veramente l'Aida più grande !
Stunning
This is my family.
She is incomparable ❤❤❤❤
Give from GOD. Talent
Superb!!! Ann Petty