Jessye Norman

Last Sunday afternoon Jessye Norman sang at Denison University. A large number of Kendal residents attended, determined not to miss a concert by one of the premiere singers of our era. We were not disappointed. At sixty-seven, Ms Norman has shifted from the operatic roles that brought her acclaim – Sieglinde, Dido, Ariadne – to more intimate numbers, and for this occasion she sang highlights from the great American songbook. 

The performances were memorably lovely. Pieces by George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and Harold Arlen; tributes to Odetta and Ella Fitzgerald – all these and much else offered in a voice that is rich in lowest register, stunning in its upper reaches, and thoroughly under control all across her magnificent dynamic range. She was a chanteuse without compare.

She wore a grand, rich gown that sank to the floor, and she swept it around with her hands as she walked. She spent much of the concert seated on a bench or standing at bend in the piano. She never moved abruptly. But on occasion she would stand free, in the middle of the stage, to let the rhythm of a piece touch and move her entire body. The effect was stunning.

She offered two encores – "Summertime" and "Amazing Grace." On that second number she sang two verses and then invited the audience to sing the first verse again while she riffed above us. The effect was astonishing. When the concert was over the audience applauded her rapturously – and with respect to some in the audience I use that word with its literal force. 

As we drove home on the Kendal bus a thought occurred to me. Several years ago René Fleming, today's reigning prima donna, had appeared at Denison and sung "I Could Have Danced All Night" as an encore. She too had invited the audience to join in on the melody while she soared above us, with similarly electrifying effects. So now, I reflected from my quiet bus seat, I can accurately say that I've sung with both Jessye Norman and René Fleming. What more can life offer?