-
The Virtuous Black XXVIII: Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman, born Jessye Mae Norman, on September 15 1945 in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A., was operatic soprano, one of the finest of her day, who also enjoyed a successful concert career. After winning the Bavarian Radio Corp. International Music Competition in 1968, Norman made her operatic debut as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser in 1969…
-
The Life You Give: Victor Hugo *1802
Victor Hugo, born Victor-Marie Hugo, on February 26 1802, in Besançon, France, is the poet, novelist, and dramatist who was the most important of the French Romantic writers. Though regarded in France as one of that country’s greatest poets, he is better known abroad for such novels as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and Les Misérables…
-
Onion overload
It is common to use a product like onions as a spice — namely, it is generally meant to give a layer of flavor. Yet, I lean increasingly into using some spices as main ingredients, instead of as added taste profile. This is such a case, with rice being added to the onion, not onion…
-
The Life You Give / Virtuous Black XXVII — Marian Anderson *1897
Marian Anderson, born on February 27 1897, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., was one of the finest contraltos of her time. Anderson displayed vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. From the age of six, she was tutored in the choir of the Union Baptist Church, where…
-
The Virtuous Black XXVI: Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald, born Ella Jane Fitzgerald, on April 25 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A., is the jazz singer who became world famous for the wide range and rare sweetness of her voice. She became an international legend during a career that spanned some six decades. As a child, Fitzgerald wanted to be a dancer,…
-
The Virtuous Black XXV: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong, born August 4 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., was leading trumpeter and one of the most influential artists in jazz history. He grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young. As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. In 1913…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
