Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano. Born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was the first African American to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera. One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant", "soaring" and "a Price beyond pearls", as well as "genuinely buttery, carefully produced but firmly under control", with phrases that "took on a seductive sinuousness." Time magazine called her voice "Rich, supple and shining, it was in its prime capable of effortlessly soaring from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C." A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, she was considered especially well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, as well as several in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Price's career climaxed on September 16, 1966, when she sang Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra by American composer Samuel Barber and conducted by Thomas Schippers, commissioned to open the Met's new house at Lincoln Center. The role of Cleopatra was written especially for Price. Since their early collaborations, Price and Barber had remained close friends and colleagues, and the composer tailored Cleopatra's music to Price's warm middle register and soaring top.  In the performances, although Price's singing was praised, especially in a powerful death scene, the opera as a whole was widely considered a failure. Director Franco Zeffirelli was blamed for burying the music under heavy costumes and huge scenery. Bing admitted he had underestimated the challenge of mounting nine new productions that season (three in the first week), and relying heavily on untested high-tech equipment. (In rehearsals, an expensive turntable broke down and, in the dress rehearsal, another mechanical failure left Price trapped briefly inside a giant pyramid.) The pressures and many of the glitches were chronicled by cameras for a Bell Telephone Hour special documentary, directed by Robert Drew.  Still others complained that Barber's score was difficult to grasp because of the dense Shakespearean verse, and lacked satisfying set pieces (apart from the death scene). The opera was never revived at the Met. However, with the help of Gian Carlo Menotti, Barber later reworked the score for successful productions at the Juilliard School and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, where it received praise. Barber also prepared a concert suite of Cleopatra's arias, which Price premiered in Washington in 1968 and subsequently recorded. Price lobbied Kurt Herbert Adler to have it produced in San Francisco, but did not succeed. CANNOTANSWER

What is the significance of Antony and Cleopatra?
Price's career climaxed on September 16, 1966, when she sang Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra by American composer Samuel Barber and conducted by Thomas Schippers,
Mary Violet Leontyne Price (född 10 februari 1927) är en amerikansk sopran. Född och uppvuxen i Laurel, Mississippi, reste hon sig till internationell acklamation på 1950- och 1960-talen, och var den första afroamerikanen som blev en ledande artist på Metropolitan Opera. En kritiker karakteriserade Prices röst som "vibrerande", "svävande" och "ett pris bortom pärlor", samt "äkta smörig, omsorgsfullt producerad men fast under kontroll", med fraser som "tog på sig en förförisk syndfullhet". Tidskriften Time kallade hennes röst "Rich, smidig och glänsande, det var i sin främsta förmåga att utan ansträngning sväva från en rökig mezzo till det rena sopranguldet av ett perfekt spunnet högt C." En lirico spinto (italienska för "pushed lyrik") sopran, hon ansågs särskilt väl lämpad för rollerna som Giuseppe Verdi och Giacomo Puccini, samt flera i operor av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Prices karriär kulminerade den 16 september 1966 då hon sjöng Cleopatra i Antonius och Cleopatra av den amerikanske kompositören Samuel Barber och dirigerad av Thomas Schippers, med uppdrag att öppna Mets nya hus vid Lincoln Center. Rollen som Kleopatra skrevs speciellt för Price. Sedan deras tidiga samarbeten hade Price och Barber förblivit nära vänner och kollegor, och kompositören skräddarsydde Kleopatras musik till Prices varma mellanregister och svävande topp. I föreställningarna ansågs operan som helhet allmänt vara ett misslyckande, även om Prices sång prisades, särskilt i en kraftfull dödsscen. Regissören Franco Zeffirelli fick skulden för att ha begravt musiken under tunga kostymer och enorma landskap. Bing medgav att han hade underskattat utmaningen att montera nio nyproduktioner den säsongen (tre under den första veckan), och förlita sig starkt på oprövad högteknologisk utrustning. (Vid repetitioner gick en dyr skivspelare sönder och vid repetitionen på klänningen lämnade ännu ett mekaniskt misslyckande Price instängd kort inne i en jättepyramid.) Trycken och många av glappen krönikerades av kameror för en Bell Telephone Hour-specialdokumentär, regisserad av Robert Drew. Åter andra klagade över att Barbers partitur var svårt att fatta på grund av den täta Shakespeareska versen, och saknade tillfredsställande uppsättningsstycken (bortsett från dödsscenen). Operan återupplivades aldrig på Met. Med hjälp av Gian Carlo Menotti omarbetade Barber dock senare partituret för framgångsrika produktioner vid Juilliardskolan och Spoletofestivalen i Charleston, där den fick beröm. Barber förberedde även en konsertsvit av Kleopatras arior, som Price hade premiär i Washington 1968 och därefter spelade in. Price lobbade Kurt Herbert Adler för att få den producerad i San Francisco, men lyckades inte. CANNOTANSWER Vad är betydelsen av Antonius och Kleopatra?
Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano. Born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was the first African American to become a leading performer at the Metropolitan Opera. One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrating", "weaving" and "a price beyond pearls", as well as "genuine buttery, carefully produced but firmly under control", with phrases such as "put on a seductive sinfulness". Time magazine called her voice "Rich, smooth and shiny, it was in its prime ability to float effortlessly from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C." A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, she was considered particularly well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, as well as several in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Price's career culminated on September 16, 1966, when she sang Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra by American composer Samuel Barber and conducted by Thomas Schippers, commissioned to open the Met's new house at Lincoln Center. The role of Cleopatra was especially written for Price. Since their early collaborations, Price and Barber had remained close friends and colleagues, and the composer tailored Cleopatra's music to Price's warm middle register and hovering top. In the performances, the opera as a whole was generally considered a failure, although Price's vocals were praised, especially in a powerful death scene. Director Franco Zeffirelli was blamed for burying the music under heavy suits and huge landscapes. Bing admitted that he had underestimated the challenge of mounting nine new productions that season (three in the first week), relying heavily on untested high-tech equipment. (At rehearsals, an expensive turntable broke and at rehearsal on the dress left another mechanical failure Price trapped briefly inside a giant pyramid.) The prints and many of the glitches were chronicled by cameras for a Bell Telephone Hour special documentary, directed by Robert Drew. Still others complained that Barber's score was difficult to grasp due to the dense Shakespearean verse, and lacked satisfactory set pieces (apart from the death scene). The opera was never revived at the Met. However, with the help of Gian Carlo Menotti, Barber later reworked the score for successful productions at the Juilliard School and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, where it received praise. Barber also prepared a concert suite of Cleopatra's arias, which Price premiered in Washington in 1968 and subsequently recorded. Price lobbied Kurt Herbert Adler to have it produced in San Francisco, but failed. What is the significance of Antony and Cleopatra?
Prices karriär kulminerade den 16 september 1966, då hon sjöng Kleopatra i Antonius och Kleopatra av den amerikanske kompositören Samuel Barber och dirigerad av Thomas Schippers,
Price's career culminated on September 16, 1966, singing Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra by American composer Samuel Barber and conducted by Thomas Schippers,