Chosen by Lise Davidsen, Jessye Norman shines as Ariadne in a performance from January 5, 1985. Sir Andrew Davis conducts Norman alongside Gianna Rolandi (Zerbinetta), William Cochran (Bacchus), Maria Ewing (Composer), Dale Duesing (Harlekin).

Pierre Boulez conducts two historic performances taken from the orchestra’s archives, with one featuring the great Jessye Norman.

Honor Black artistry with an entire month of exciting musical events — operas, chamber concerts, jazz orchestras, broadcasts, and more!

A special program featuring the music of Black composers from Florence Price to Bob Marley, and performers like Jessye Norman and the Kanneh-Mason.

Favorite interpretations of carols — sometimes camp, sometimes sublime.

Here are just a few Black performers who changed the course of classical music… and continue to inspire us today!

It’s been a strange, difficult year for the music world, which is all the more reason to celebrate musical excellence.

To coincide with exciting new additions to the WTTW slate, WFMT has compiled a playlist celebrating the pinnacles of Black and Latino artistry in vocal music.

2019 was a year of great loss in the worlds of classical music and the arts. WFMT commemorates and celebrates the lives of these artists as they speak directly to us.

Baldwin’s association with singers Elly Ameling, Jessye Norman, José van Dam, Teresa Berganza, Mady Mesplé, and above all, Gérard Souzay, defines the history of German art song performance in the second half of the twentieth century.

On a sweltering summer evening in the early 1990s, Jessye Norman visited the Chicago area for an intimate recital at Ravinia. Host Larry Johnson recalls the singular concert experience.

Latonia Moore, Eric Owens, Lise Davidsen, J’Nai Bridges, and Leah Hawkins are scheduled to perform, the company said Wednesday, along with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

City officials of Augusta, Georgia, plan to name the street outside the arts school Norman opened in 2003 after the beloved soprano.

WFMT is deeply saddened to learn that soprano Jessye Norman has died at age 74. As a tribute to her inspiring life and career, we are re-sharing this story from when Ms. Norman herself visited WFMT.

The renowned international opera star, whose passionate soprano voice won her four Grammy Awards and the National Medal of Arts, has died.

In the gap between a languid summer and a long winter, there’s just enough room left for fall. It’s a season for transformation, comfort, reflection, and growth. In other words, it’s the perfect time to grab some cider, take in that brilliant fall foliage, and enjoy this playlist created for you by WFMT staff and hosts!

More than 60 years after Marian Anderson broke the color barrier at the Met, Black singers still face unique obstacles within the opera industry. “We’ve made some strides, but not a whole lot,” said Professor Naomi Andre.

Learn how Lawrence Brownlee, hailed as one of the world’s leading tenors, is developing new works that respond to issues facing men of color today.

As classical organizations seek to bring more newcomers to the concert hall, have traditions of audience silence worn out their welcome?

When Karpman encountered Langston Hughes’ poem, she was instantly fascinated.

Music and dance provided an outlet for enslaved people to express their sorrow, though often their cries of pain sounded quite the opposite to slave owners.