Leontyne Price's voice had filled every opera house in the world except one.

She'd sung in Europe's greatest houses. Vienna. La Scala. Covent Garden.

But the Metropolitan Opera wanted something specific for her debut.

Aida. An enslaved Ethiopian princess.

Price's mentor told her to refuse. "When she makes her debut, she must do it as a lady, not a slave."

Three years passed.

She kept singing in Europe. Thirty-one years old, then 32, then 33.

They returned with a different offer. A contract. Five roles. Leonora in Il Trovatore was one of them.

When Price stepped onto that stage, she wore velvet and jewels, not chains.

Her voice filled the house. Rich. Soaring. Unstoppable.

The audience rose, applauded. Stood for 42 minutes. Wouldn't sit down. Couldn't stop.

It remains the longest ovation in the house's history.

They built seasons around her.

When the opera house opened its new hall, they asked Price to christen it. Commissioned an opera for her voice.

Antony and Cleopatra.

Price took the stage as an Egyptian queen.

Image Credit: Met Opera Archives