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HomeMusicOpera & VocalLanguagesAida, told by Leontyne Price ~ with selection from the Verdi Opera |
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Aida by Leontyne Price Feb 16, 2008
This is a great introduction to opera by a person who should know it best.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Leontyne Price Reads The Story Of Aida Oct 08, 2005
This is the companion CD to the illustrated book "Aida" as told by Leontyne Price, which is also available on Amazon.com. It features highlights from the RCA Red Seal recording with Placido Domingo, Grace Bumbry, Sherill Milnes and Ruggero Raimondi, a CD that is available on Amazon.com. It is indeed a great way to hook young children into opera by first turning them on to the story. There is a fairy-tale like quality to Leontyne Price'ss reading of the plot- an element catering to children and to young-at-heart adults. Of course, opera connoisseurs will also find it charming. As an adult, I can thoroughly enjoy this book because Aida is one of my favorite operas and I know the music by heart. However, despite the charm of this book, I feel that this is still very much the fabrication of an author since parts of the story do not fit into the actual opera. I never thought Amneris was THAT jealous, and the opening paragraphs describe Aida in her days as Princess of Ethiopia when she was heir to her father Amonastro's kingdom. She is described as very beautiful in purely poetic ways without alluding to her dark black Ethiopian skin (and Ethiopians were much darker than the tan, bronze-skinned Egyptians) and she becomes as something of a figure of romantic legend than anything remotely real. She disobeys her father's decree of not wandering too far from the realm and lo and behold, she gets captured and turned into a slave to the haughty Princess Amneris. Radames falls for Aida simply because beneath her slave status, he must unconsciously recognize her royal blood. This much is probably true. But I also feel that Amneris must have also recognized Aida's royal heritage. The book is beautifully illustrated to resemble Egypian hieroglyphics.
Leontyne Price first sang Aida in 1957 in San Francisco. This performance was such a hit that she later filmed the final Act for the Bell Telephone Series and it was these performances that made her a legend. Her Aida was mounted on the Metropolitan Opera and she sang with unbridled success opposite such singers as Grace Bumbry, Placido Domingo, Sherill Milnes, Jon Vickers, Rita Gorr and others. Her Farewell Concert in the 80's was the aria "O Patria Mia" which earned her a record-breaking standing ovation. It was a teary, emotional farewell to Leontyne Price's career in her signature role. Aida is without a doubt her greatest triumph. She clearly loved the role and it shows in the way she reads the story. She identifies with Aida's character in a personal way. Leontyne should actually be recognized as much a figure in the Civil Rights Movement as Rosa Parks or even Coretta Scott King. It was appropriate that Leontynne became the first black opera superstar during the Civil Rights Movement.She was born and bred in Mississippi during the darkest period of racial tension in the South (when she first began singing in Mississippi, the case of Brown Vs Board of Education was transpiring). She often claimed that by singing opera, long associated with whites or European singers, she was able to break the color barrier and push blacks into further social progress. She was given the mantle of this responsibility by contralto Marian Anderson, the first black singer at the Met in 1955. Leontyne Price also donned Afros in some of her LP covers and in her performances. She was no spokesperson for the Black Panthers but she did admire Civil Rights leaders from any source. Her source was opera. Listening to her reading this story is a sheer delight since no other soprano can be so intimately familiar with the role of Aida. The story is heartmoving and passionate. It is about love that overcomes racial differences, class differences and a love that makes even the gods weep. At the end, even the jealous Amneris finally recognizes the love of Radames and Aida and implores to the gods that they may die in peace. "Pace, Pace T'Imploro". A beautiful opera. Buy the RCA Red Seal recording of Leontyne Price's Aida as well since that one is Leontyne Prices' favorite version and her best performance of that particular role.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Absouletly Beautiful - Thank Leontyne Oct 05, 2002
Leontyne Price does a wonderful job of explaining this beautiful opera. If you want to expose your child to various art forms of music this disc and book set will diffently do it. Thank you Ms. Price
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Aida told by Leontyne Price Jul 06, 2000
An excellent version to get my 8 and 10 year olds interested in opera. These have delighted us and many of our friends hearing it at our house. We all loved "knowing" what was happening, having the story told with the opera intermixed. Excellent! Bravo! Encore!
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
THE AIDA HIGHLIGHTS DISC TO OWN! Mar 28, 2000
Compiling selections from the 1970 Price/Domingo/RCA recording with recently-recorded narrations, read by Miss Price from her popular storybook, make this one THE Aida Highlights recording to get. Althrought there is a budget disc of the highlights of the very same recording, it'll never match this one for sure!
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