Jessye Norman, the renowned international opera star whose passionate soprano voice won her four Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honor, has died, family spokesperson Gwendolyn Quinn said. She was 74.
A statement released to The Associated Press on Monday said that Norman died at 7:54am from septic shock and multi-organ failure secondary to complications of a spinal cord injury she suffered in 2015.
She died at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in New York and was surrounded by loved ones.
Photo: AFP
“We are so proud of Jessye’s musical achievements and the inspiration that she provided to audiences around the world that will continue to be a source of joy. We are equally proud of her humanitarian endeavors addressing matters such as hunger, homelessness, youth development, and arts and culture education,” the family statement read.
Funeral arrangements are to be announced in the coming days.
Norman was a trailblazing performer and one of the rare black singers to attain worldwide stardom in the opera world, performing at such revered houses like La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera, and singing title roles in works like Carmen and Aida” and more.
She sang the works of Wagner, but was not limited to opera or classical music, performing songs by Duke Ellington and others as well.
“I have always been drawn to things other people might consider unusual. I’m always taken by the text and beautiful melody. It’s not important to me who has written it. It’s just more reasonable to have an open mind about what beauty is,” Norman said in a 2002 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.
“It’s important for classical musicians to stretch and think beyond the three B’s [Bach, Beethoven and Brahms]. They were wonderful composers, but they went to the great beyond a long time ago. There’s lots of music that will live for a very long time,” she said.
Norman was born on Sept. 15, 1945 in Augusta, Georgia, in segregationist times. She grew up singing in church and around a musical family that included pianists and singers.
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