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Marian Had Opened the Door …Ikept It from Closing Again.«

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Marian Had Opened the Door …Ikept It from Closing Again.« 126 Music, Race, and Culture penitentiary in Huntsville,Texas.While asmall audienceattendedthe 1938 performance broadcastfromaprisonadministrator’s office,bythe time of thefourthanniversarybroad- castin1944, the›free-world‹whites-only audiencehad swelledto1.280.Prisonofficials insisted that themusical educationofinmates hadasalutaryeffectontheir vocational training in preparationfor theiremployment in thewar industries.Myresearchsuggests that inmatesviewedthe airshows less as an expressionofpatriotism, than as avehicle for earlyrelease from asystemthatwas farfromideal. Elizabeth Amelia Hadley (Clinton, NY) »Marian Had Opened the Door …IKept it from Closing Again.« »I am here andyou will know that Iamthe best andwillhearme[…].The colorof my skin or thekinkofmyhairorthe spread of my mouthhas nothingtodowith what you arelistening to.« Leontyne Price, Time 14th January19851 Leontyne Price’sascendancytoprimadonna assoluta wasframedbythe CivilRights,Black Power,and BlackArts Movements.Althoughher name maybeabsentfromthe rosters of activism in either movement, shewas lyricallyand majestically openingdoors to Opera houses both nationallyand internationally; enablingother peopleofcolortoenter.Price’s wordsand deedsmanifestadeliberatecommitmenttoinspire anew generation of vocal- ists to enterthe gilt-encrusted, hallowedhallsofopera. Mary Violet Leontyne Pricewas born andraisedinsegregatedLaurel, Mississippi, where peoplewere proud of theirBlack heritage.Price waspopularamong Blackand WhitepeopleinLaurel, where both communitiesnurtured herdesiretopursueanopera career.Excellencewas Price’sweaponofchoicefor combatingdiscrimination.Price, knownfor herquiet dignifiedcomportment, encounteredand candidly addressed racial inequities throughout hercareer. Although thenationwas cognizantofthe threatstoand eventual assassinations of Mal- colm X andthe ReverendDr. Martin Luther King Jr., fewwere awarethatPrice’s life was imperiledthroughouther preparation to open thenew Metropolitan OperaHouse at Rocke- feller Center in 1966,because shewas aBlack womansinging on theopera stage, alocale tacitlyacceptedasthe dominionofWhite divas. Priceperformed in defianceofimpending danger to herlifewhile predominately whitecritics andaudiences subsequentlycelebrated herasthe primadonna assoluta. Indeed,she introduced Cleopatra, thefirst centuryEgyptian 1 Michael Walsh, »WhatPrice Glory, Leontyne!«,in: Time Magazine 14th January1985, p. 67. Hadley: »Marian Had Opened the Door …IKept it from Closing Again.« 127 queentocriticalacclaim in Samuel Barber’s Antony andCleopatra,aworkexplicitlycommis- sioned forthe openingofthe newMetropolitan OperaHouse at LincolnCenterin1966. Leontyne Price’sculturalachievementsinaEuropeanart form andher contributions to theadvancement of AfricanAmericans in theopera worldinthe face of adversity meted outbyawhite hostilesociety,concurrentlywiththe CivilRights,and male-dominated BlackPower andBlack Arts Movements as mise en scène arethe focusofthisdiscourse. Howdoesone achievethe titleof›absolute‹ when yourcompatriots continuallyplace ob- staclesinyourpath? Thetitle of this essay is derived from remarks made by Pricepay- inghomageinrecognition of herdebt to Marian Anderson(1897–1993).Aglanceather childhood communityand significantcontributorstoher maturation will gleansomeper- spective of Leontyne Price’sBlack conscientiousness. Mary Violet Leontyne Pricewas born 10th February 1927 in Laurel,Mississippi,in apredominately Blackcommunity that nurtured herself-confidenceand encouraged her musictalents from childhood.Her mother,Kate(Baker) Pricewas amidwife,and herfa- ther,James A. Price, acarpenter,employedatthe localsawmill,bothsanginthe choirat St.Paul’sMethodist Church.Consequently, Leontyne wasfrequentlypresent duringchoir rehearsalsinadditiontoattending church on Sundays. Leontyne’s earliest recollection of musicwas listening to hermothersing»in alovelylyric sopranovoice as shehungthe laundrytodry.«2 As atoddler,Leontyneperformed concerts on herdollpiano forher mother whorecognizedher proclivityfor music, andhired alocal musicteacher to teach Leontyne pianowhenshe wasthree andhalf, fortwo dollarsalesson,orinexchangefor launderingclothes.3 Leontyne excelled in pianoand playedfor thechurchchoir when she wasolder.AlthoughPrice wasbornand raised in segregated Mississippi,she received sup- port,love,and respectfromboth, Blackand Whitecommunities. Leontyne’s Aunt,EverlinaGreer,was amaidfor 40 yearsinthe home of ElizabethWis- nerChisholmand Alexander Chisholm, an affluentfamily, locatedinawhite suburb of Laurel. Leontyne occasionallymet herAuntthere,and whilewaiting,sangand playedwith theChisholmdaughters.Subsequently, theChisholm’semployedLeontynetoperform re- citals at theirsocialgatherings,duringwhich Mrs. Chisholmwas thepiano accompanist. Eventually, Leontyne wasindemandtosingatsocialeventsthroughouther community. TheChisholms respectfully soughtthe Price’spermissiontocontributetoLeontyne’sad- vanced vocallessons, andupontheir sanction,her »two families«, as shereferredtothem, continuedtoassistLeontyneemotionallyand financiallythroughouther academictenure at Juilliard, andlater,duringher operacareer.4 Priceemerged from Laurel to attend histo- ricallyBlack CentralState CollegeinWilberforce,Ohio, whereshe wasencouraged by BlackAmericanvocalist, actor, andpolitical activist,PaulBustill Robeson (1898–1976). Theseinsularcommunities were instrumental in molding apositiveaffirmation of her presence, andself-esteem. If shewere thetargetofaracialincidentinLaurel, it wasquietly taken care of withoutincidentorknowledge to her. Forexample: 2 »A VoiceLikeaBannerFlying: Leontyne Price«,in: Time Magazine 10th March1961. 3 Ibid. 4 HelenOrmsbee,»Leontyne Price’sBess Caps HerLucky Year«, January1955. 128 Music, Race, and Culture Leontyne’s firstbig concertwas scheduledbythe Chisholms in theauditoriumof theLaurelHigh School, whichwas namedafter Mrs. Chisholm’sfather. When some grumblings rose around town aboutaNegro singinginthe auditorium of the whiteschool, theChisholms rentedthe city auditorium andthe concertwas held there before asold-outhouse.Proceedswenttoalocal Negrohospital.5 Yearslater,Mrs.Elizabeth Chisholmexplained thehandlingofthe incident, stating»we didn’t want to clutterupher mind with worries aboutthingslikethat.«6 ThePrice andthe Chisholmfamilieshad agreed from agesix that Leontyne wasaspecial person born with a gift,and shelteredher from adversarial activities so shecould focussolelyonattaining her dream, andbothfamiliesspent alifetimesupportingher spirituallyand financially, and providingevery opportunity to assist herinachieving herobjectives.Eventhe Chisholm children,Jeanand Peggyagreedtofewer Christmasgifts in order to contribute to the Leontyne operafundestablished in theirhome. They remained closefriends to Leontyne Price, andattendedher performances throughouther career.Price’s earlyinteraction with Robeson,and thepolitical activism of hermotherand father as membersofthe National Associationfor theAdvancement of ColoredPeople(NAACP)inLaurel, unequivocally forged herpolitical consciousness. Pricewas popularamong teachersand classmatesinHigh Schoolwhere in additionto singingshe wasacheerleader anddrummajorette.After graduationfromHigh School, in pursuitofateachingdegreeinmusic,she attended Historically BlackCentral StateCollege. Upon hearingher sing,however,Robeson encouraged hertopursueavocal career beyond theundergraduatelevel. Toward that end, Robeson held abenefit performancewiththe proceeds allocated to Price, theChisholmfamilyprovided additionalfinancial supportand Juilliard’sSchoolofMusic awardedher afour-year scholarship where shestudied from 1949–1952. At Juilliard, Pricebegan vocalstudy with former concertvocalistFlorence Page Kimball.Their alliance transcendedteacher andstudentrelationshipand blossomed into awarmfriendshipofmutualrespect,duringwhich Kimball became Price’sdevoted teacher,coach,and friend untilher deathin1977. Pricestudied theclassics, contemporary Frenchsongs,and operaroles.Kimball primed Priceto»sing on yourvocal interest,not on theprincipal«,and on howtodress forperformances. Pricecharacterized theirassocia- tion as »T he most importantrelationshipofmylife. […] Like sex,itwas pure chemistry.«7 TheCivil Rights Movementwas in dress rehearsal forthe second American Revolution when Pricecompleted Juilliardand made herpublic entrance as avocalistonthe Broadway stageinApril 1952.After leavingthe nurturingenvironmentsofLaurel, CentralState College, andJuilliard,Price begantotourthe United States duringwhich shepersonally experienced societal inequities of ›Jim Crow‹. WhileAudiences from TexastoChicago em- braced herperformances, shewas concurrentlyrelegated to segregated hotels, restaurants, 5 JayMilner, »A Little Girl From MississippiMakes Good«, in: Herald Tribune. 6 Ibid. 7 Michael Walsh, reportedbyNancy Newman,»Leontyne Price: What PriceGlory«,in: Time Maga- zine 14th January1985. Hadley: »Marian Had Opened the Door …IKept it from Closing Again.« 129 andtravelingfacilities. Segregationbegan to erode at theconclusionofPrice’s international tours(1953 –1954),whenthe United States SupremeCourt,inanow historical case, com- pelled by theCivil Rights Movement, ruledunanimously that separate facilities by race wereunconstitutionalinBrownv.Board of EducationofTopeka (1954). Priceknew, that »Marianhad opened thedoor« of theMetropolitan OperaHouse in 1955,and assumedroles with afervor to keep that door »from closingagain.« Price’sper- formance as Mistress Ford in GiuseppeVerdi’s Falstaff duringa1952 Juilliardproduction,
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