Barber: Hermit Songs / Knoxville: Summer of 1915 / Two Scenes from Antony & Cleopatra
Early in her career, Leontyne Price formed an artistic liaison with Samuel Barber that resulted in his composing the female lead inAntony and Cleopatrafor her. The disastrous premiere of that opera prevented Price from making a complete recording--a tragic loss in my opinion. She did record excerpts, however, and we at least have this disc to document these and the many other Barber works that she performed with incomparable artistry. Opera singing being what it is, Price didn't often have the chance to sing in English, so these performances are not only historically important, they are uniquely communicative as well.--David Hurwitz