Opera has a long and rich history, but it has not always been inclusive. For many years, Black opera singers were denied opportunities to perform on the world’s greatest stages. Today, there are many Black opera singers who are dominating the stage, both nationally and internationally. These singers are breaking down barriers and inspiring a new generation of artists.
Marian Anderson, Roland Hayes, Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price, Paul Robeson, and George Shirley are just a few of many Black trailblazers in the world of opera who overcame countless barriers in the face of adversity. Please join us in celebrating the stories and voices of these magnificent performers.
Pioneering Figures
Marian Anderson
African American contralto Marian Anderson's extraordinary musical range spread from lieder, to opera, to spirituals. Marian Anderson, the pioneering contralto, fought throughout her career to break barriers and make music history. Norman credited Marian Anderson as one of her earliest inspirations. Norman once recounted, “At age 10 I heard, for the first time, the singing of Marian Anderson on a recording. I listened, thinking, ‘This can’t be just a voice, so rich and beautiful.’ It was a revelation.
In 1939, Anderson was painfully denied the right to perform at Constitution Hall because of her colour. On Easter Sunday 1939, Anderson had been scheduled to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. However, the owners of the hall, the Daughters of the American Revolution, prohibited her from performing due to their “white performers-only” policy. This decision angered First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who subsequently renounced her membership and invited Anderson to give an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Throughout her career, Anderson continued to make history. She was the first Black artist to sing a leading role with the Metropolitan Opera, served as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and sang at the March on Washington. On January 7, 1955, contralto Marian Anderson at long last made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Ulrica in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, becoming the first African American artist to sing a leading role at the Met. At the time-about 15 years after her famous performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial-Anderson was in the final phase of an illustrious career.
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Roland Hayes
Tenor Roland Hayes was born in Curryville, GA, in 1887, to parents who were former slaves. At an early age, Hayes sang African American spirituals that he learned from his elders. Hayes received vocal training with a local organist and choir director in Chattanooga, who introduced him to recordings of great singers of the time, including Enrico Caruso. In Hayes’s own words, Caruso’s voice ” opened the heavens for me….the beauty of what could be done with the voice just overwhelmed me.” He was determined to make singing a career and pursued studies at Fisk University, joining the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
“Initially rebuffed by professional managers because of his race, Hayes arranged and promoted his own concerts, steadily gaining recognition while touring from coast to coast. In 1920 he traveled to Europe, where he gave a command performance for British royalty and won over a hostile crowd in Berlin.
Paul Robeson
Who is Paul Robeson
He first found major success in the 1928 London premiere of Show Boat, after which ‘Ol’ Man River’ became his signature song. Then came his celebrated portrayal of Othello at the Savoy Theatre in London, which made him the first black actor to take on the role in a century.
George Shirley
Detroit native George Shirley paved the way for many young African American tenors in the industry, and not just on the operatic stage. George Shirley is a distinguished professor emeritus of voice at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 1955, he became the first African American to serve as a high school music teacher in Detroit. His first public opera performance, Die Fledermaus, took place in 1959 with a small Woodstock, NY opera company. A year later, George won the American Opera Auditions and was offered the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème in Milan, Italy.
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Shirley would go on to sing 28 roles in 26 operas during his 11 seasons at the Met. In a career that spans more than 50 years, Shirley performed more than 80 operatic roles with many of the world’s most renowned conductors. He eventually joined the voice faculty at University of Maryland and later assumed the position as Director of Vocal Arts at University of Michigan. Shirley’s performances with UMS date back to 1973.
Leontyne Price
Perhaps no American opera singer in history has achieved as much universal respect as soprano Leontyne Price. American lyric soprano Leontyne Price, 93, is among the first African American opera stars to have achieved international success. Born in Laurel, MS, Leontyne Price was captivated by music from a young age, listening to the choir at St. Paul Methodist Church and beginning piano lessons at age 5. She attended Juilliard, and subsequently had a thriving early career on Broadway in various productions including Ira Gershwin’s 1952 revival of Porgy and Bess. Two years later, Price made her UMS debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. About the performance, UMS Programming Director Michael Kondziolka wrote, “Price had a double debut when she first came to UMS for the May Festival in 1957.
In May 1960, Price made her first appearance at Milan’s La Scala as Aida in Verdi’s great opera. Beyond her performances of Aida, Price is remembered as the first Black singer to become a leading performer at the Metropolitan Opera. In January 1955, Price sang the title role in Puccini's Tosca, the first appearance by an African American in a leading role in televised opera. She would eventually sing 201 performances at the Met in 16 productions, and has also been honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, the National Medal of Arts and many more.
Contemporary Stars
J’Nai Bridges
When you hear the words “killing the game,” mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges is an obvious name that comes to mind. J’Nai Bridges is one of opera’s great rising stars. J’Nai Bridges has been heralded as a rising star, gracing the world’s top stages in repertoire ranging from traditional favorites to world premieres to spirituals and standards. Last seen at LA Opera in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, Bridges chose to pursue music over basketball. Bridges earned a Master of Music from Curtis Institute of Music after graduating from Manhattan School of Music. In 2015, Bridges premiered the role of Carmen in the new opera Bel Canto with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her next big thing? Making her staged-role debut in Carmen at San Francisco Opera this summer.
Lawrence Brownlee
American-born tenor Lawrence Brownlee captivates audiences and critics around the world, and has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today”. He has been called “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and the sparkling clarity of his higher register is renowned in opera houses worldwide.
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Lawrence Brownlee attended Anderson University in Indiana for his undergraduate degree and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for graduate studies. He went on to become a member of Young Artist programs at Seattle Opera and the Wolf Trap Opera Company. His prolific opera career includes several astounding roles, most notably, the famously challenging role of Tonio in The Daughter of the Regiment, which includes an aria that requires no fewer than nine high Cs (talk about a vocal Olympics!) His signature role is that of Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He has performed the role at The Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Madrid’s Teatro Real just to name a few.
Here's a table summarizing some of the key figures mentioned:
| Opera Singer | Voice Type | Key Achievements |
|---|---|---|
| Marian Anderson | Contralto | First African American to sing a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera |
| Roland Hayes | Tenor | Pioneering tenor who gained international recognition |
| Paul Robeson | Bass-Baritone | Prominent actor, singer, and civil rights activist |
| George Shirley | Tenor | First African American to teach high school music in Detroit, performed 80+ operatic roles |
| Leontyne Price | Soprano | One of the first African American opera stars to achieve international success |
| J’Nai Bridges | Mezzo-Soprano | Rising star gracing top stages, known for traditional and contemporary repertoire |
| Lawrence Brownlee | Tenor | International star in bel canto operatic repertoire |
