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Elizabeth
Taylor Greenfield was an internationally recognized African-American
vocalist in the 1800s, known in the press as the "Black Swan."
Synopsis
Born in or around the second decade of the 1800s in Natchez, Mississippi, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield established a career as an acclaimed vocalist, touring the United States and Great Britain, where she gave a Buckingham Palace concert for Queen Victoria. Known as the "Black Swan," Greenfield continued performing into the 1860s and also worked as a teacher. She died in in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 31, 1876.Background
Born Elizabeth Taylor, the exact date of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield's birth is unknown, with various sources listing different years. She was born into slavery somewhere reportedly around the second decade of the 1800s in the region of Natchez, Mississippi to mother Anna and father Taylor (his listed last name). The mistress of the grounds, the widowed Mrs. Holliday Greenfield, moved to Philadelphia in the 1820s and took the young Elizabeth with her. Holliday eventually became a Quaker, freeing her slaves. Though her parents moved overseas to Liberia, Elizabeth continued to live with Holliday for a time as a child and later as an adult, taking her last name.Named 'Black Swan'
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield had a passion for song, becoming a church vocalist and learning how to play instruments like the harp and piano on her own. She was only able to receive limited musical training due to racist ideology but was nonetheless able to develop a stunning voice, with an apparently multi-octave range and the ability to sing soprano, tenor and bass. It is believed Greenfield began performing for private events by the 1840s.In the fall of 1851, upon traveling to Buffalo, New York to attend a concert by fellow vocalist Jenny Lind, Greenfield was later able to give a performance of her own. With accolades coming in from the newspaper press, she went on a multiple city tour the following year and would come to be hailed as the first nationally recognized African-American concert singer, eventually receiving the same acclaim in parts of Europe as well. For Greenfield, the media initially came up with the nickname "African Nightingale" and, later, "Black Swan."
Reenactment of The Black Swan
Portraits
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