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Opera Star Born Jessie Mae Norman on Sept 15, 1945, in Augusta's old University Hospital. She grew up listening to the Saturday afternoon broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera while doing her Saturday chore of cleaning the family's house. She won her first talent contest singing in Augusta's Mount Calvary Baptist Church where her father, Silas Norman, was superintendent of the Sunday School classes. She sang for Queen Elizabeth II on her 60th birthday, performed at President Ronald Reagan's 1985 inauguration, sang in Paris for the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day and sang at the funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The amphitheater at Riverwalk Augusta is named in her honor. |
