LORRAINE HUNT LIEBERSON

posted by James Reel

    It’s remarkable and touching how people are reacting to the death Monday of mezzo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. How many other classical singers today would inspire such a mixture of admiration, respect, and deep affection? She was a superb artist, excelling equally in vocal technique, communicative expression, taste, and musical courage, and as far as I know she never, ever indulged in diva behavior. By all accounts she was a decent, likable person, an impression I certainly got when I interviewed her a few years ago. She died at age 52 of causes that have not been officially announced; the widespread assumption inolves breast cancer, for which she was treated a few years ago, but one rumor has it that she succumbed to metastatic liver cancer. Tributes are proliferating; I’ll point you to two: Patty Mitchell fondly remembers working with her way back when, and Craig Smith provides a nice assessment of her more recent work in the Free New Mexican. For a more comprehensive list, go here and scroll down the right-hand column.