Jessye Norman. Singer - ACE163.8

Norman studying score; her VO talking about needing to be alone to concentrate, but not liking the idea of being lonely. Audiences coming in at Theatre des Champs. Elysées. VO talking about planning concerts – ensuring different programmes for return visits to a city. Talking VO about Claude Debussy’s Trois Ballades de François Villon which she likes with piano accompaniment. Performance of the third, Ballade des Femmes de Paris; announcement that she cannot finish performance – her VO explains that she had an infection and couldn’t breath properly – but does sing Strauss’s Schlechtes Wetter. Norman says there’s no pressure on her to anything except stand up and sing but she is always critical of herself when she can’t do that for some reason. Leaving the theatre. Norman says she tries to be realistic and objective about her performances, and to work on things that are difficult for her; the pressure to perform well comes from within. Man tuning harpsichord; Norman sitting. Her VO saying her goal is to be better as what she does. Recording "When I am Laid in Earth" (Dido’s Lament) from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. Credits.