Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna

Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna is a collector’s item. It was published in 1973 and covers some of the most essential years of her life and career. It has circulated extensively via libraries and has been cited in a variety of magazine articles, books and encyclopedias such as: The Music of Black Americans: A History by Eileen Southern, 2nd Ed., 1985, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.; Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1992; Current Biography, 1992; and Opera In America by John Dizikes, Yale University Press, 1993. “The life-story of Leontyne Price is told by Hugh Lee Lyon in Highlights of a Prima Donna. He provides his reader with a candid view of her personal life. He brings into forefront some of the interesting hours spent at Wilberforce University and how she became an attraction in college.”—Earl Calloway, Chicago Daily Defender, Chicago Metrolitan Area, Illinois “There is much to commend in the biography, Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna. The author has done considerable research into the salient points of the life of this opera star and concert artist. He interviewed family, friends and early teachers of Miss Price in her birthplace, Laurel Mississippi.”—William Duncan Allen, Performing ARTS, Berkeley, California “Hugh Lee Lyon presents Leotyne Price in a warm and sympathetic light as he tells of the shy girl from Laurel, Mississippi, who became a world opera star. He gives us valuable information on an infrequently studies area of the Black musical experience and presents a bouquet to the diva.”—ENCORE