Growing up African American in segregated Arkansas in the 1950s, Barbara Hendricks witnessed firsthand the painful struggle for civil rights. After graduation from the Juilliard School of Music, Hendricks immediately won a number of important international prizes, and began performing in recitals and operas throughout the world. A Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, she is as devoted to humanitarian work as she is to her music. Always theanti-diva, Hendricks is a down-to-earth and straightforward woman, whether singing Mozart or black spirituals. She challenges stereotypes and puts the music first and presents a warm, engaging, and honest self-portrait of one of the great women of music.
When the lyric soprano Barbara Hendricks sings, the first word that comes to mind is not powerful but beautiful. —New York Times
Barbara Hendricks is a voice, in both senses of the word. For her, artistic and humanitarian engagement are tightly linked. . . . She is completely possessed by her art. —L'Express
“I remember with the greatest of pleasures every occasion Barbara has made music with me, whether in New York, Israel or the, now legendary, performances of Turandot in the Forbidden City in Beijing with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Always a delight to work with and with the combination of her most beautiful voice and her stunning musicianship I feel very honored to be counted as one of her colleagues.” —Zubin Mehta
“Barbara Hendricks is an artist who has made a difference. She has brought to her art a voice naturally endowed with a shimmering sweet timbre that, coupled with a fine instinct for phrasing and opera character portrayal, has put her in a category all her own. Her devotion and contribution to humanitarian causes is without parallel. I salute Barbara, her work, and her ll
![Lifting My Voice: A Memoir [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/3/4/7/2_6870948.jpg "Lifting My Voice: A Memoir [Hardcover]")