Jessye Norman

American opera singer (1945-2019) · United States · On the map · Musicians · Died at 74

Jessye Mae Norman was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type.

Jessye Norman is read about 299 times a day, in 38 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

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A life in dates

2025Georgia Women of AchievementAward2019Died30 September 20192013Spingarn MedalAward2006Grammy Lifetime Achievement AwardAward1990Honorary Doctorate at the Laval UniversityAward1989Knight of the Legion of HonourAward1945Born15 September 1945

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Awards

Georgia Women of Achievement2025

Spingarn Medal2013

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award2006

Honorary Doctorate at the Laval University1990

Knight of the Legion of Honour1989

Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres

National Medal of Arts

Wolf Prize in Arts

Kennedy Center Honors

Honorary Doctor of Brandeis University

Honorary Doctor of the Northwestern University

About this person

A commanding presence on operatic, concert and recital stages, Norman was associated with roles including Beethoven's Leonore, Wagner's Sieglinde and Kundry, Berlioz's Cassandre and Didon, and Bartók's Judith. The New York Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound" that "has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas. It contains sunlit rooms, narrow passageways, cavernous halls."

Country

United States