"If I were to have these decisions about not going to countries because I disagree with the political situations, I think I would have stayed home a lot," Jessye Norman told Channel 1 in Israel in 2016.
"I think we need to understand, and admit, that these feelings always existed just under the surface, and what they needed was permission to be released," Norman said.
I recently stumbled upon this extended interview with the American soprano on YouTube:
was permission to be released," Norman said.
I recently stumbled upon this extended interview with the American soprano on YouTube:
Anyone who listens to Norman sing, or who has read her book, "Stand Up Straight and Sing!", knows she is very aware of the turmoil inherent in any life well lived.
I have never heard her speak so passionately — perhaps controversially — about world affairs. Norman did this interview during the last presidential campaign in the United States. She spoke about American politics, her view of the United States at the time, not performing Wagner in Israel and the worlds' continued bondage to racism.
Whether you agree with these views, this is an antidote to the stereotypical "And then I sang" interview attributed to classical singers.
Anyone who listens to Norman sing, or who has read her book, "Stand Up Straight and Sing!", knows she is very aware of the turmoil inherent in any life well lived.
I have never heard her speak so passionately — perhaps controversially — about world affairs. Norman did this interview during the last presidential campaign in the United States. She spoke about American politics, her view of the United States at the time, not performing Wagner in Israel and the worlds' continued bondage to racism.
Whether you agree with these views, this is an antidote to the stereotypical "And then I sang" interview attributed to classical singers.
Anyone who listens to Norman sing, or who has read her book, "Stand Up Straight and Sing!", knows she is very aware of the turmoil inherent in any life well lived.
I have never heard her speak so passionately — perhaps controversially — about world affairs. Norman did this interview during the last presidential campaign in the United States. She spoke about American politics, her view of the United States at the time, not performing Wagner in Israel and the worlds' continued bondage to racism.
Whether you agree with these views, this is an antidote to the stereotypical "And then I sang" interview attributed to classical singers.
1 comment:
Singers sing; that’s what they do. Some of them make money (even, some, good money) doing it. Like most human beings they have interests and outlooks on things apart from their enterprise. Those outlooks are varied (Anna Netrebko’s do not necessarily align with Norman”s or others). What you don’t want to do is to equate the level of the opinion with the level of the artistry. These performers (only the recording execs and the opera houses insist on calling them “artists” and the reason is that that appelation sells tickets) enjoy, as does any “celebrity” in the public eye an attention to their outlooks on any aspect of life (even beyond their sphere of demonstrated competence). You can agree or disagree with the analysis that the performer articulates, but the important point is that it is the pedigree of the analysis, not that of the performer/articulator, that matters. And if one of these choose simply to comment on the aspects of the work that they have a competence in and to eschew other areas where they feel that they have no “expertise,” then there is no reason to deride them.
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