Opera Great Jessye Norman Dies At 74

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Jessye Norman Has Died At The Age Of 74

Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Jessye Norman, who passed away Monday at the age of 74. The soprano opera singer was a legend all over the world who won multiple Grammy Awards as well as the National Medal of Arts, according to Variety reports.

Norman died in New York Monday morning from septic shock and multi-organ failure secondary to complications of a spinal cord injury she had sustained in 2015, according to a statement from a representative for her family.

“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,” the statement from her family reads. “We are equally proud of her humanitarian endeavors addressing matters such as hunger, homelessness, youth development, and arts and culture education.”

Norman was born in Augusta, Georgia to a musical family, both her mother and grandmother were pianists, while her father was a singer. She grew up singing in church and was eventually awarded a scholarship to Howard University where she studied voice. After graduating from Howard in 1967, Norman attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the University of Michigan. She made made her operatic debut as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser in 1969 in Berlin. She’s also renowned for her work in the title role in “Aïda” in productions in Berlin and Milan, as well as the role of Cassandra in Hector Berlioz’s “Les Troyens,” and at the Metropolitan Opera in Arnold Schoenberg’s “Erwartung,” among others. By the 1980’s Jessye Norman was recognized as one of the leading sopranos in the world, performing the work of composers such as Schubert, Mahler, Wagner, Brahms, Satie and others. In 2003, Norman partnered with the Rachel Longstreet Foundation to open the Jessye Norman School of the Arts for economically disadvantaged students in her hometown of Augusta. In 2014, she published a memoir, “Stand Up Straight and Sing!”

Watch one of her stirring performances below:

We’re saddened by this news and will never forget the mark she made in the world.