Leontyne Price: My idol!

When reading the Heyman article, “A New Opera House,” there were sections that truly caused my stomach to sink and my heart to race. During any sort of a live performance mistakes can be made, machinery can malfunction, someone can miss a cue, etc… it’s live theater and it happens. However, while reading the sections of this article pertaining to the mistakes and malfunctions during the premier of Antony and Cleopatra; it was like reading an account of a performer’s worst nightmare.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for everyone in that cast and especially Leontyne Price for their ability to handle everything that was thrown at them during that opening night at the Met; and I think it speaks volumes as to the professionalism of Leontyne Price. Firstly, her costumes were incredibly detailed and heavy. I think a lot of singers may have found it challenging to sing in a headdress that size, but Leontyne pulled it off. She was trapped in the giant pyramid at one point and had to sing from inside, and she was heard over the orchestra! There were missed lighting cues and as a result, Leontyne Price had to make an entrance in the dark. As if that wasn’t enough the turn table stopped working and had to be run manually by stage hands disguised in costume. The article at one point mentioned that in general, the music constantly had to compete with the noise of the machinery, as well as all of the live animals Zeffirelli insisted on having in the production.

When I was reading all of this all I could think of is what I would have done if I were in Leontyne Price’s shoes. She must have been so solid in her memorization of the music, text and staging to have made it through such a stressful opening night. Her talent is truly remarkable, and clearly, so is her work ethic and sense of camaraderie.


Heyman, "A New Opera House," Samuel Barber: The Composer and his Music, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 428-460.