Since yesterday happened to be the birthday of the great operatic mezzo soprano Grace Bumbry (born January 4, 1937) I thought it would be fitting to go another look at a piece I originally wrote year and half ago about her and one of her most legendary roles
A St. Louis native Bumbry, who, now at age 78, is still very active and living in Austria, was, in the 60’s and 70’s, one of the truly great operatic mezzo sopranos of her day. And like her peer, Leontyne Price, broke down many barriers.
For example, back in the early 60’s, she was cast in the role of Venus in Richard Wagner’s opera Tannhauser at Bayreuth in Germany (the opera house and shrine to Wagner…
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