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Mattiwilda Dobbs, Soprano and Principal at Met, Dies at 90. If you would like to listen to some of her performances, just type her name in the search box.
By MARGALIT FOXDEC. 10, 2015
Mattiwilda Dobbs, a coloratura soprano who was the third African-American to appear as a principal singer with the Metropolitan Opera, died on Tuesday at her home in Atlanta. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by a niece, Michele Jordan.
Though Ms. Dobbs’s voice was not immense, she was routinely praised by critics for its crystalline purity and supple agility, and for her impeccable intonation, sensitive musicianship and captivating stage presence.
She also had a highly regarded international career as a recitalist, singing at Town Hall in New York and on other celebrated stages, and was especially renowned as an interpreter of Schubert lieder.
When Ms. Dobbs made her Met debut, as Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” on Nov. 9, 1956, she had already sung to great acclaim at La Scala in Milan, where she was the first black principal singer; Covent Garden in London; and the San Francisco Opera, where she had made her United States operatic debut, as the Queen of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Le Coq d’Or,” in 1955.
At the Met, she was preceded by two black singers: the contralto Marian Anderson, who made her debut in January 1955, and the baritone Robert McFerrin, who made his a few weeks later. (Mr. McFerrin was the father of the jazz singer Bobby McFerrin.)
Reviewing Ms. Dobbs’s Met debut, opposite the baritone Leonard Warren, Howard Taubman wrote in The New York Times: “The young soprano has a voice of substance and quality, well placed and expertly controlled. Her singing is true, flexible at the top in coloratura passages and glowing in texture throughout the scale.”
The first black woman to be offered a long-term contract by the Met, Ms. Dobbs appeared with the company 29 times through 1964. Her roles there included Oscar the pageboy (sung by a soprano) in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera”; Zerlina in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”; and the title part in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor,” for which, The Daily News reported in 1957, the audience summoned her back for nine curtain calls after she had sung her mad scene.
If Ms. Dobbs is less well remembered today than some singers of her era, that is partly because she made relatively few recordings. It is also because her debut fell between the historic advent of Ms. Anderson and the blazing ascendance of Leontyne Price, widely considered the first black operatic superstar, who made her Met debut in 1961.
What was more, Ms. Dobbs happened to have joined the Met as part of the incoming class of 1956-57 — a group of newly hired principal singers that included the titanic sopranos Antonietta Stella and Maria Callas.
Named for a grandmother, Mattie Wilda Sykes, Mattiwilda Dobbs was born in Atlanta on July 11, 1925, the fifth of six daughters of John Wesley Dobbs and the former Irene Ophelia Thompson.
Hers was a distinguished family: Ms. Dobbs’s father, a mail-train clerk, was long active in civic affairs, helping to register black voters as early as the 1930s. In the late 1940s he helped found the Atlanta Negro Voters League.
Mr. Dobbs insisted on a college education, along with seven years’ study of the piano, for each of his daughters, and he prevailed in every instance. As a girl, Mattiwilda also sang in her church choir but, retiring and bashful, did not envision a performing career.
She began voice lessons in earnest only as an undergraduate at Spelman College in Atlanta. After earning her bachelor’s degree — she graduated first in her class with majors in Spanish and music — the young Ms. Dobbs moved North at her father’s insistence for advanced vocal training.
“I would never have been a singer if it were not for my father,” she told Look magazine in 1969. “I was too shy.”
In New York, Ms. Dobbs became a pupil of the German soprano Lotte Leonard; she also studied at Tanglewood. At the same time, as a hedge against the uncertainties of a career in music, she earned a master’s degree in Spanish from Columbia University Teachers College.
Ms. Dobbs was a winner of the Marian Anderson Scholarship Fund in 1948, and received a scholarship from the John Hay Whitney Foundation not long afterward. On the strength of her awards, she moved to Paris, where she studied with the art-song specialist Pierre Bernac.
In 1951, she came to wide international attention by winning a first prize in the Geneva International Music Competition.
Over the years, Ms. Dobbs also sang at the Glyndebourne Festival in England and with the Royal Swedish Opera, the Hamburg State Opera and the Israel Philharmonic. In 1959, she was one of four Americans — the others were Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson and the producer Harold Hecht — sent by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to establish a cultural exchange program with the Soviet Union.
Ms. Dobbs’s first husband, Luis Rodriguez Garcia de la Piedra, a Spanish journalist whom she married in 1953, died the next year. (Only days after his death, she honored a commitment to sing at Covent Garden before the new monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.)
In 1957 Ms. Dobbs married Bengt Janzon, a Swedish journalist, and she was known afterward in private life as Mattiwilda Dobbs Janzon.
Mr. Janzon died in 1997. Ms. Dobbs’s survivors include a sister, June Dobbs Butts.
Ms. Dobbs’s recordings include Mozart’s “The Abduction From the Seraglio,” Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers” and Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann.”
After retiring from the concert stage, Ms. Dobbs taught voice at the University of Texas, Spelman College and, for many years, Howard University in Washington.
Throughout her career, Ms. Dobbs refused to sing in segregated concert halls. She did not perform in her hometown, Atlanta, for instance, until 1962, when she sang before an integrated audience at the Municipal Auditorium there.
In January 1974 she performed at another epochal Atlanta event, singing the spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” at the inauguration of the city’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson.
The choice of Ms. Dobbs to perform at Mr. Jackson’s inauguration seemed almost foreordained, and not merely because of their shared background as racial pioneers. Mr. Jackson, the great-great-grandson of a slave, was also Ms. Dobbs’s nephew.
If you would like to enjoy more opera selections of George Shirley, just type his name in the search box.
George Shirley
O Freedom (Negro Spiritual)
From Wikipedia
Marquita Lister
Marquita Lister (born 24 April 1961) is an American operatic soprano. She has sung with major companies in the U.S. and abroad, specializing in the lirico-spinto repertoire. Lister is considered one of the leading interpreters of Bess in Porgy and Bess, having performed the role hundreds of times in companies across the globe, and she is also renowned for her portrayals of Aida and Salome, two signature roles.
Early Life and education
Lister was born in Washington, D.C. She attended Western High School before it became the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts, and then she transferred to Woodrow Wilson High School from which she graduated. She won several vocal competitions as a teenager. She went on to graduate from the New England Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree and earned a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, where she studied with famed vocal teacher Inez Silberg. In 1983 she won the regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions.
Career
Lister apprenticed at the Houston Grand Opera (1987–89), and made her mainstage debut with the company as the title heroine in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida in 1992. She went on to sing principal soprano roles at the San Francisco Opera, Portland Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, and the Vancouver Opera among others. She portrayed the role of Bess in a world tour that played the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the La Scala in Milan. She sang Musetta in La bohème at the Arena di Verona Festival, then Bess, yet again, at the Bregenzer Festspiele and New York City Opera, where she won the Diva Award (2002). She also appeared as Bess in New York City Opera's "Live From Lincoln Center" PBS broadcast of Porgy and Bess on March 20, 2002.
In recent years Lister has sung Lady Macbeth and Aida at Dresden's Semperoper, Rusalka at Boston Lyric Opera, and Cassandre in Les Troyens at the Amazon Theatre in Brazil. Last summer she again starred as Bess in a concert version of Gershwin's opera at the Hollywood Bowl.
She has performed with world-renowned artists such as Plácido Domingo, Justino DÃaz, Frederica Von Stade, Simon Estes, and Sherrill Milnes. She has recorded George Gershwin’s Blue Monday and excerpts from Porgy and Bess for Telarc Records with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops; "Where the Sunsets Bleed: The Chamber Music of Edward Knight" for Albany Records; and the critically acclaimed Porgy and Bess for Decca, hailed by Opera News as one of the best recordings of 2006.
In April 2011, Lister reprised her signature role of Bess in a concert production with the Akron Symphony. During August 2011, Lister sang the role of Serena in Porgy and Bess at Tanglewood. Also that year, she performed a program of Gershwin classics with Maestro Tovey at the keyboard in Vancouver, Canada and appeared with him and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Mahler extravaganza (MahlerPlus) in the composer’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection to a standing ovation.
In February 2012, she joined the African American Art Song Alliance at the University of California, Irvine, where she sang the song cycle, "The Wider View" by H. Leslie Adams, as well as the Act II aria, “Lady of the Water,” from "Amistad" by Anthony Davis. The following month she appeared at the Videmus@Festival on the Hill at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she gave a Master Class and performed a tribute concert honoring the distinguished Videmus organization.
Additionally, at the request of composer Michael Ching, Ms. Lister recorded his contribution to the Opera America Songbook commissioned to celebrate the opening of the National Opera Center. She then reprised the role of Serena in a concert performance of "Porgy and Bess" with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, again under the direction of Maestro Tovey.
Ms. Lister continues to appear on a variety of television programs. She recently launched a radio talk show series with noted radio host Doug Llewellyn, and appears regularly on WAMU radio.
Personal
For many years Lister has served as the national spokesperson for the Negro "Spiritual" Scholarship Foundation Negro Spiritual Scholarship Foundation, which helps young singers obtain funds to pursue their musical education. In December 2011, Lister accepted the prestigious Victory Award from National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she underwent treatment for an illness several years ago. Owing to the soprano's determination and care at NRH,[neutrality is disputed] Lister regained her strength and returned to the stage with renewed vigor.
Mark Rucker and Marquita Lister sing Perchè non vai a letto?
George Gershwin / Porgy & Bess / Bess You Is My Woman
Wikipedia:
Ruby Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943), was a pioneer Americanoperatic soprano.
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Elzy was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi and educated at Rust College, the Ohio State University and the Juilliard School.
Professional accomplishments[edit]
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First LadyEleanor Roosevelt's luncheon for the wives of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. She appeared on Broadway in the musicalJohn Henry, in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with Paul Robeson in the film of The Emperor Jones, and also with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin in Birth of the Blues, though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and in the Hollywood Bowl.
Elzy created the role of Serena in George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess and performed in it more than eight hundred times. Her big aria in the opera was "My Man's Gone Now", Serena's lament after her husband is murdered in a crap game; but it was Anne Brown, and not Elzy who sang it on the so-called "original cast" album of selections fromPorgy and Bess, made in 1940. However, Elzy can be heard singing it on a CD release of the 1937 Gershwin Memorial Concert, which took place three months after Gershwin's death, at the Hollywood Bowl.
Legacy
Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. She died at the age of thirty-five in 1943, just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream: to star in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled Ruby Elzy in Song, was released on the Cambria label.
My Man's Gone Now (Porgy and Bess)-Gershwin
The video below cannot be downloaded, if you would like to view it, just click the URL below
On My Journey Now (Negro Spiritual)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx3MzncLEu0
Ruby Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943), was a pioneer Americanoperatic soprano.
.jpg)
Professional accomplishments[edit]
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First LadyEleanor Roosevelt's luncheon for the wives of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. She appeared on Broadway in the musicalJohn Henry, in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with Paul Robeson in the film of The Emperor Jones, and also with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin in Birth of the Blues, though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and in the Hollywood Bowl.
Elzy created the role of Serena in George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess and performed in it more than eight hundred times. Her big aria in the opera was "My Man's Gone Now", Serena's lament after her husband is murdered in a crap game; but it was Anne Brown, and not Elzy who sang it on the so-called "original cast" album of selections fromPorgy and Bess, made in 1940. However, Elzy can be heard singing it on a CD release of the 1937 Gershwin Memorial Concert, which took place three months after Gershwin's death, at the Hollywood Bowl.
Legacy
Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. She died at the age of thirty-five in 1943, just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream: to star in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled Ruby Elzy in Song, was released on the Cambria label.
My Man's Gone Now (Porgy and Bess)-Gershwin
The video below cannot be downloaded, if you would like to view it, just click the URL below
On My Journey Now (Negro Spiritual)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx3MzncLEu0
My Notes
I could not find any recordings, If you have recordings, please post in comment section
or tell us where they can be found.
Wikipedia:
Roberta Dodd Crawford (5 August 1897 Р14 June 1954) was an African-American lyric soprano and voice instructor who performed throughout the United States and Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Roberta was born in Bonham, Texas before studying singing in Nashville, Chicago, and Paris. While in Paris, she married Prince Kojo Tovalou Hou̩nou of Dahomey. When Hou̩nou died in a French prison, Roberta was left without access to their marriage funds and returned to Paris where she lived through the Nazi occupation from 1940 until 1944. After the war, she returned to Texas where she died in 1954 in Dallas
Roberta Dodd Crawford was born on 5 August 1897 in the Tank Town section of Bonham, Texas. She was one of eight children of Joe and Emma Dodd (née Dunlap). She was active in the church choir and any other musical opportunities in Bonham while growing up. She worked at the Curtis Boarding House in town in 1914 and would often perform regular songs for customers. Because of her singing talents, five white women in the community paid for her to attend Wiley College until she transferred to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and then in 1920 to the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She studied with many prominent singers and vocal coaches at these institutions including Roland Hayes and vocal coach Hattie Van Buren. While studying in Chicago, she married William B. Crawford, a captain in the U.S. Army.
Musical career and marriages
Her first major performance was on 15 April 1926 at Kimball Hall in Chicago where she sang pieces in five different languages and included songs by African American composers, like N. Clark Smith. She was one of the few opera singers who would sing in Spanish at the time. She followed this performance with a number of shows throughout Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas (including a concert in Bonham). At some point in the late-1920s, her relationship with William B Crawford ended; sources disagree, with some claiming that Roberta was widowed and others that she divorced.
After a number of concerts, she moved to Paris in 1928 to study with mezzo-soprano Blanche Marchesi. While in Paris in 1931, she met and began a relationship with Kojo Tovalou Houénou, a prominent African lawyer and writer who was related to the royal family of the kingdom of Dahomey (in present-day Benin). Crawford and Houénou married on 6 March 1932 in Paris and lived in the city for the early years of the marriage. The couple were very connected to the African and African-American communities in Paris during the 1930s and were active in the arts and cultural scenes. During this period, she went by the name Princess Tovalou Houénou and continued to perform in Paris. However, much of the later years were spent outside of Paris, in Dahomey, Senegal and other parts of West Africa as Houénou was continually harassed and arrested by French authorities for his political involvement. He died on 13 July 1936 while in a French prison.
World War II and death
After Houénou's death, Crawford was unable to gain access to their shared property, which included her concert earnings, because they were all impounded by the French colonial authorities. She returned to Paris, lived with friends, and worked for the National library of Paris in the late 1930s. However, having little money, meant that she was unable to escape Paris when Nazi Germany took over the city at the beginning of World War II. As an African-American, her work and freedom were severely constrained, including periods under house arrest, in internment camps, and the inability to get work permits. Although she was a prisoner for a period during this time, there are conflicting reports regarding whether she was ever held in a concentration camp. When Allied troops entered Paris, she resumed singing and worked for the Red Cross entertaining troops. However, anemia and malnutrition prevented her from regular work and she returned to Texas sometime around 1950.
She died on 14 June 1954 of a heart attack in Dallas and is buried, in an unmarked grave, in Gates Hill Cemetery in Bonham.
Bio taken from: Texas State Historical Society
CRAWFORD, ROBERTA DODD (1895–1954). Roberta Dodd Crawford, black lyric soprano, also known as Princess Kojo Tovalou-Houenou, was born in 1895 in the black Tank Town section of Bonham, Texas, the oldest daughter among eight children born to Joe and Emma (Dunlap) Dodd. As a child she attended Washington School and later worked as a waitress at Curtis Boarding House. Her singing talent brought her to the attention of several Bonham women who arranged for her to perform at the Alexander Hotel and at several Bonham churches. With help from benefactors, she attended Wiley College at Marshall for two years, then entered Fisk University, where she studied with Roland Hayes. About 1920 she entered the Chicago Musical College (now Roosevelt University), where for the next six years she studied with Madame Herman Devries, a noted voice coach. While in Chicago Roberta Dodd married Capt. William B. Crawford of the Eighth Illinois Regiment.
On April 15, 1926, she debuted at Kimball Hall and was accompanied by pianist Cleo Dickerson Holloway. Her performance received favorable reviews from the Chicago Daily Tribune, the Chicago Daily News, and the Chicago Defender. She sang art songs and arias in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and English, as well as a Negro spiritual; the inclusion of the latter followed the practice of her mentor Hayes and other African-American recital singers of that era. Her program included works by Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn, Gounod, and Puccini. She also sang an aria from the opera L'Africaine by Meyerbeer and the arietta waltz from Mireille, a Gounod opera. Four sponsors and seventy-four society patrons supported her Kimball Hall debut.
In a review of another 1926 performance by Crawford, the Defender's Maude Roberts George described a program of fifteen songs in English, Spanish, French, and German. Classical singers rarely included Spanish-language songs in their repertory at the time, and George reported that Crawford learned the language from a Spanish operatic singer living "on the Arizona border." Her German-language program included selections from Bach, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. The recital also included a song by Maj. N. Clark Smith, an African-American composer.
In the months before Crawford's Kimball Hall debut, Roland Hayes battled Jim Crow laws before his own concert appearances in Atlanta and Baltimore by refusing to go on stage unless theater managers ceased the practice of refusing blacks access to privileged seats in the house. In 1926 Crawford performed in cities outside of Chicago, including Rockford, Illinois; Indianapolis, before the National Association of Negro Musicians; and St. Paul. On December 11 she embarked on a pre-Christmas tour of cities in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, along with accompanist Hortense Hall.
In 1928 she performed at the First United Methodist Church in Bonham, where her program combined Italian, French, German, Spanish, and English art songs and operatic arias with Negro spirituals and at least one "primitive African melody." Later she traveled to France to become a student of Blanche Marchesi in Paris. In 1931 she made her French debut by singing selections in five languages at the Salle Gaveau. Now widowed, she met Kojo Marc Tovalou-Houenou (or Marc Tovalou Quenum), a doctor and lawyer and Pan-African activist from Porto Novo, the capital of Dahomey in French West Africa (now Benin). Some sources also refer to him as a prince. They married in 1932 in Paris's Sixth Arrondissement; he died about 1938.
After his death, his widow returned to Paris. She was never able to secure funds from her African property.
During World War II she joined the Red Cross and sang in churches and canteens for American soldiers. From 1943 until 1945 she worked part-time in the National Library of Paris. She also gave voice lessons and sang professionally. During this time she was known in Paris as Princess Tovalou-Houenou. Suffering from anemia, she relied on friends for financial help and credited a Fort Worth physician with saving her life by getting surplus food coupons for her. She reportedly spent time in a concentration camp during the German occupation of France, but was released. In 1948 she returned to Bonham, but her poor physical and emotional health left her unwilling to perform again. She moved to Dallas a few years later to seek medical care.
Angela Brown
Wikipedia\
Angela M. Brown (born 1964) is an African-American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal of Verdi heroines.
Early life and education
Angela Brown was born in 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her mother, Freddie Mae Brown, was a painter, and her father, Walter Clyde Brown, was an autoworker at a Chrysler plant in Indianapolis for 41 years. Along with older brother George and younger brother Aaron, Brown was raised in a deeply spiritual Baptist household. Her grandfather was a Baptist minister in the city and Brown started singing at his church when she was 5 years old. Brown credits her musical experiences at church as instilling in her a love for singing.
As a teenager, Brown started performing in Soul Music bands around Indianapolis
and was highly active in the vocal music program at Crispus Attucks High School. Her high school choir director, Robert Fleck, taught Brown her first classical arias and entered her in several local music competitions, all of which Brown won. Brown also participated in her high school's musicals, playing Adelaide in Guys and Dolls among other roles.
After high school, Brown attended a community college in Indianapolis part time while working a day job as a dietary aide at a Methodist Hospital. She also acted in several musicals at the pro-am Civic Theater where she got to work with several notable performers including Ginger Rogers. Brown also worked as a singing waitress for a time.
The death of her younger brother led Brown, then 20, to re-examine her faith and join the Seventh-day Adventist Church with intent to become a singing evangelist. To that end, in the fall of 1986, at the age of 21, Brown enrolled at Oakwood College planning to major in biblical studies with a minor in music. Brown subsequently changed her major to music, however, after her voice teacher, Ginger Beazley, convinced her to pursue opera singing instead. Brown received a bachelor's degree in the Spring of 1991
From 1992 to 1997, Brown continued her studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University with noted voice teacher Virginia Zeani. Brown had worked frequently with Zeani while at Oakwood College, as Ginger Beazley took Brown and her other students up to IU to participate in Zeani's master classes.
While in graduate school, Brown began competing in several notable music competitions. In 1994 Brown tried out for the National Council Auditions of New York's Metropolitan Opera. She made it as far as the regional finals but proceeded no further. She tried out two more years in a row, only to twice more be stopped at the regional level. She tried one more last time in 1997. "I had nothing to lose," she told the New York Times. Instead, she won everything, not only the regionals, but also the semi-finals and then the finals. The win bought her entry into the world of professional opera.
Brown has since gone on to win the 2000 Richard Tucker Career Grant, a 1998 Sullivan Foundation Grant, the 1998 G.B. Viotti Verdi Vocal Competition, and the 1998 Opera Carolina Competition.
Career
In 1997, Brown moved to New York City and began performing in a steady stream of small roles with larger opera companies and larger roles with smaller opera companies over the next several years. She also appeared in concerts with good regional orchestras and gave many recitals
In the 2000-2001 season, Brown performed with the San Antonio Symphony, Teatro La Fenice, as Serena in Porgy and Bess with Opera Company of Philadelphia, and gave several recitals. She also began working for the Metropolitan Opera as a cover artist for the title roles of Verdi's Aida and Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. This was followed by cover work for the company for the next three seasons
In the 2001-2002 season, Brown appeared as the Fourth Maid in Cincinnati Opera's production of Strauss' Elektra.
In the 2002-2003 season, Brown performed at the Kimmel Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the September 11 Memorial Concert, return trips to the Metropolitan Opera to cover the roles of Aida and Ariadne, covering Leonora in Il Trovatore for San Francisco Opera, performances of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the El Paso Symphony and Muncie Symphony Orchestras, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2003-2004 season, Brown performed the roles of Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlo and Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the title role in Verdi's Aida for Shaker Mountain Opera, and the role of Cassandra in Taneyev's Agamemnon with the Manhattan Philharmonic and the Aquila Theater Company which toured Poland and was performed at her Carnegie Hall debut . She also performed a concert of Strauss and Wagner arias with the Auckland Philharmonia, was a soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Louisville Orchestra, and a soloist with the Gibraltar Philharmonic. In addition, Brown made an unexpected appearance with the Opera Company of Philadelphia when she filled in at the last minute in the title role of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Brown also filled in for an ailing singer for an orchestra rehearsal of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. The company was so impressed with her work, they immediately called Brown's agent and booked her for two performances of Aida and 12 cover performances for the next season.
In the 2004-2005 season, Brown made her critically acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Verdi's Aida. Her performance was so well received that an article about her appeared on the front page of the New York Times on November 8, 2004. Originally she was not scheduled that night to sing, as she had already sung two performances in the scheduled run of Aida and covering the role for the remainder of the run, but she was called to replace the ailing lead that night. Opera News stated of her performance "one of America’s most promising Verdi sopranos". In addition, Brown sang the role of Aida for Opera Company of Philadelphia and followed that with the world premiere of Margaret Garner, a new opera by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison, in the role of Cilla for Michigan Opera Theatre and Cincinnati Opera. She also appeared as a guest soloist in a concert of opera arias for Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand) and Dayton Opera
In the 2005-2006 season, Brown performed the role of Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera and the role of Cilla in Margaret Garner for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the title role in Verdi's Aida for Opera Pacific and Florentine Opera, Verdi's Requiem for the Festival of Saint Denis in France, concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony and Brevard Festival Orchestra, and recitals throughout the United States.
In the 2006-2007 season, Brown made her debut with Opéra National de Paris as Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, sang the title role of Verdi's Aida with Florida Grand Opera for the opening the new Carnival Performing Arts Center, and sang the role of Bess in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for both Opera Pacific to open the new Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Opera Company of Philadelphia to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Academy of Music.
In the 2007-2008 season, Brown sang the title role of Aida and the role of Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera at the Metropolitan Opera. She was also chosen by The Library of Congress as the featured soloist for the 2008-2009 National Celebration of the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln in February. In addition, Brown sang in concert at Dayton Opera, performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, sang Aida with Opera de la ABAO, the title role in Puccini's Tosca with Florida Grand Opera, and gave her first appearance in the role of Leonora in a concert version of La Forza del Destino with James Conlon for the Cincinnati May Festival. This summer Brown will perform Verdi's Requiem with the National Symphony of Spain in Madrid, give a concert of sacred repertoire at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand, and will be the featured performer at the NAACP's national conference in July 2008.
In the 2008-2009 season, Brown sang Aida for Cape Town Opera in South Africa and for the Latvian National Symphony in Riga. She celebrated Christmas with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Alabama and the Southwest Michigan Symphony. In addition, she sang Aida at her debut with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Leonora in Il Trovatore for her debut with Atlanta Opera, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera for National Opera of Paris, and Elisabetta in Don Carlo for Cincinnati Opera, and performed Verdi's Requiem in Barcelona.
Brown has also performed roles with the Indianapolis Opera.
She has performed in concert with the San Antonio Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Brevard Festival Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Asheville Lyric Opera's 10th Anniversary Gala Hendersonville Symphony, Chautauqua Institution, the Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary Celebration, Chicago Sinfonietta, The Joy of Music Television Series and tours throughout United States, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and Africa.
She has given recitals in such places as Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Angela M. Brown is a spokesperson for the United Negro College Fund and uses her voice to bring awareness of opera to minority audiences, communities and diverse young audiences. Since 2002, she has frequently given free concerts entitled Opera...from A Sistah's Point of View with fellow opera singer Kishna Davis to help everyday people connect with opera.
G.Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Act 1, My Man's Gone Now
Great Is Thy Faithfulness / Were You There
Dramatic soprano Angela Brown tells Prime Time about her road
Angela Brown and Morris Robinson sing He's Got the Whole Wor
Angela Brown - Tacea la notte - David Wolff, piano
Wikipedia\
Angela M. Brown (born 1964) is an African-American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal of Verdi heroines.
Early life and education
Angela Brown was born in 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her mother, Freddie Mae Brown, was a painter, and her father, Walter Clyde Brown, was an autoworker at a Chrysler plant in Indianapolis for 41 years. Along with older brother George and younger brother Aaron, Brown was raised in a deeply spiritual Baptist household. Her grandfather was a Baptist minister in the city and Brown started singing at his church when she was 5 years old. Brown credits her musical experiences at church as instilling in her a love for singing.
As a teenager, Brown started performing in Soul Music bands around Indianapolis
and was highly active in the vocal music program at Crispus Attucks High School. Her high school choir director, Robert Fleck, taught Brown her first classical arias and entered her in several local music competitions, all of which Brown won. Brown also participated in her high school's musicals, playing Adelaide in Guys and Dolls among other roles.
After high school, Brown attended a community college in Indianapolis part time while working a day job as a dietary aide at a Methodist Hospital. She also acted in several musicals at the pro-am Civic Theater where she got to work with several notable performers including Ginger Rogers. Brown also worked as a singing waitress for a time.
The death of her younger brother led Brown, then 20, to re-examine her faith and join the Seventh-day Adventist Church with intent to become a singing evangelist. To that end, in the fall of 1986, at the age of 21, Brown enrolled at Oakwood College planning to major in biblical studies with a minor in music. Brown subsequently changed her major to music, however, after her voice teacher, Ginger Beazley, convinced her to pursue opera singing instead. Brown received a bachelor's degree in the Spring of 1991
From 1992 to 1997, Brown continued her studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University with noted voice teacher Virginia Zeani. Brown had worked frequently with Zeani while at Oakwood College, as Ginger Beazley took Brown and her other students up to IU to participate in Zeani's master classes.
While in graduate school, Brown began competing in several notable music competitions. In 1994 Brown tried out for the National Council Auditions of New York's Metropolitan Opera. She made it as far as the regional finals but proceeded no further. She tried out two more years in a row, only to twice more be stopped at the regional level. She tried one more last time in 1997. "I had nothing to lose," she told the New York Times. Instead, she won everything, not only the regionals, but also the semi-finals and then the finals. The win bought her entry into the world of professional opera.
Brown has since gone on to win the 2000 Richard Tucker Career Grant, a 1998 Sullivan Foundation Grant, the 1998 G.B. Viotti Verdi Vocal Competition, and the 1998 Opera Carolina Competition.
Career
In the 2000-2001 season, Brown performed with the San Antonio Symphony, Teatro La Fenice, as Serena in Porgy and Bess with Opera Company of Philadelphia, and gave several recitals. She also began working for the Metropolitan Opera as a cover artist for the title roles of Verdi's Aida and Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. This was followed by cover work for the company for the next three seasons
In the 2001-2002 season, Brown appeared as the Fourth Maid in Cincinnati Opera's production of Strauss' Elektra.
In the 2002-2003 season, Brown performed at the Kimmel Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the September 11 Memorial Concert, return trips to the Metropolitan Opera to cover the roles of Aida and Ariadne, covering Leonora in Il Trovatore for San Francisco Opera, performances of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the El Paso Symphony and Muncie Symphony Orchestras, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Roanoke Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2003-2004 season, Brown performed the roles of Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlo and Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the title role in Verdi's Aida for Shaker Mountain Opera, and the role of Cassandra in Taneyev's Agamemnon with the Manhattan Philharmonic and the Aquila Theater Company which toured Poland and was performed at her Carnegie Hall debut . She also performed a concert of Strauss and Wagner arias with the Auckland Philharmonia, was a soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Louisville Orchestra, and a soloist with the Gibraltar Philharmonic. In addition, Brown made an unexpected appearance with the Opera Company of Philadelphia when she filled in at the last minute in the title role of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Brown also filled in for an ailing singer for an orchestra rehearsal of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. The company was so impressed with her work, they immediately called Brown's agent and booked her for two performances of Aida and 12 cover performances for the next season.
In the 2004-2005 season, Brown made her critically acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Verdi's Aida. Her performance was so well received that an article about her appeared on the front page of the New York Times on November 8, 2004. Originally she was not scheduled that night to sing, as she had already sung two performances in the scheduled run of Aida and covering the role for the remainder of the run, but she was called to replace the ailing lead that night. Opera News stated of her performance "one of America’s most promising Verdi sopranos". In addition, Brown sang the role of Aida for Opera Company of Philadelphia and followed that with the world premiere of Margaret Garner, a new opera by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison, in the role of Cilla for Michigan Opera Theatre and Cincinnati Opera. She also appeared as a guest soloist in a concert of opera arias for Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand) and Dayton Opera
In the 2005-2006 season, Brown performed the role of Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera and the role of Cilla in Margaret Garner for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the title role in Verdi's Aida for Opera Pacific and Florentine Opera, Verdi's Requiem for the Festival of Saint Denis in France, concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony and Brevard Festival Orchestra, and recitals throughout the United States.
In the 2006-2007 season, Brown made her debut with Opéra National de Paris as Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, sang the title role of Verdi's Aida with Florida Grand Opera for the opening the new Carnival Performing Arts Center, and sang the role of Bess in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for both Opera Pacific to open the new Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Opera Company of Philadelphia to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Academy of Music.
In the 2007-2008 season, Brown sang the title role of Aida and the role of Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera at the Metropolitan Opera. She was also chosen by The Library of Congress as the featured soloist for the 2008-2009 National Celebration of the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln in February. In addition, Brown sang in concert at Dayton Opera, performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, sang Aida with Opera de la ABAO, the title role in Puccini's Tosca with Florida Grand Opera, and gave her first appearance in the role of Leonora in a concert version of La Forza del Destino with James Conlon for the Cincinnati May Festival. This summer Brown will perform Verdi's Requiem with the National Symphony of Spain in Madrid, give a concert of sacred repertoire at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand, and will be the featured performer at the NAACP's national conference in July 2008.
In the 2008-2009 season, Brown sang Aida for Cape Town Opera in South Africa and for the Latvian National Symphony in Riga. She celebrated Christmas with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Alabama and the Southwest Michigan Symphony. In addition, she sang Aida at her debut with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Leonora in Il Trovatore for her debut with Atlanta Opera, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera for National Opera of Paris, and Elisabetta in Don Carlo for Cincinnati Opera, and performed Verdi's Requiem in Barcelona.
Brown has also performed roles with the Indianapolis Opera.
She has performed in concert with the San Antonio Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Brevard Festival Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Asheville Lyric Opera's 10th Anniversary Gala Hendersonville Symphony, Chautauqua Institution, the Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary Celebration, Chicago Sinfonietta, The Joy of Music Television Series and tours throughout United States, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, and Africa.
She has given recitals in such places as Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Angela M. Brown is a spokesperson for the United Negro College Fund and uses her voice to bring awareness of opera to minority audiences, communities and diverse young audiences. Since 2002, she has frequently given free concerts entitled Opera...from A Sistah's Point of View with fellow opera singer Kishna Davis to help everyday people connect with opera.
G.Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Act 1, My Man's Gone Now
Great Is Thy Faithfulness / Were You There
Dramatic soprano Angela Brown tells Prime Time about her road
Angela Brown and Morris Robinson sing He's Got the Whole Wor
Angela Brown - Tacea la notte - David Wolff, piano
I have downloaded several spiritual arrangements conducted by the composer Uzee Brown, Jr., baritone. Brown's inspiration comes from African and African-American musical traditions, and most of his arrangements have become staples in the repertoire of many church choirs.
Born in 1950, in Cowpens, SC
Education: Morehouse College, BA, 1972; Bowling Green State University, MM; University of Michigan, MM, DMA; also studied at Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood, Interlochen (Michigan), Graz Conservatory (Austria), and University of Siena (Italy).
Memberships: Onyx Opera Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, co-founder and chairman of board of directors, 1988-; National Association of Negro Musicians, president, 1996-2002; Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, choral director and director of music; Cascade United Methodist Church, choral director and director of music; Ben Hill United Methodist Church, choral director and director of music; Ebenezer Baptist Church, choral director and director of music.
Career
Opera singer, 1972-; Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA, chair of Department of Music, 1970s-1980s; Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, professor of music and member of board of trustees, 1980s-.
Life's Work
Professor Uzee Brown Jr. has been a major figure in African-American classical music for more than thirty years. Since 1972, when he made his operatic debut in the role of Parson Alltalk in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's world premiere of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha, Brown has fascinated audiences with his talents as a vocal performer. After seasons spent singing in Italy, he returned to the United States and began a parallel career as a music educator and a composer and arranger of music. Much of his inspiration comes from African and African-American musical traditions, and his arrangements of spirituals have become staples in the repertoire of many church choirs. His work has been featured at many arts festivals, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's tribute to African-American composers in 1999 and the St. Louis Festival of African and African-American Music in 2001.
Brown was born in 1950 in Cowpens, South Carolina. He earned his bachelor's degree in music at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia--one of the foremost traditionally Black colleges in the United States--in 1972. While attending the university, he studied composition with T. J. Anderson, a leading African-American composer, and worked closely with the leader of the college's Glee Club, Dr. Wendell P. Whalum. He also performed and studied at the Berkshire Music Center, at Tanglewood, and at the Interlochen music camp in northwestern Michigan. After graduation he moved to Europe, where he studied at the world-renowned Graz Conservatory in Austria and at the University of Siena in Italy.
After returning to the United States in the late 1970s, Brown taught at Clark Atlanta University, where he became head of the department of music. Finally, however, he returned to Morehouse College, his alma mater, in the 1980s. He worked with his former teacher, Wendell Whalum, producing arrangements of African-American spirituals such as "Ain't-a That Good News!," "Go Where I Send Thee," "Sweep Clean Mary," and "Rock-a My Soul." He quickly won a reputation as a vocal music composer as well, producing in 1992 the song cycle O Redeemed!. In 1999 his arrangement of "We Shall Overcome," produced for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Martin Luther King Jr. tribute, was broadcast on the National Public Radio program "Performance Today."
Benjamin Roe, the producer of "Performance Today," personally commissioned Brown's arrangement of the great civil rights anthem for the special celebration. "He asked me to write something that would capture the power and the spirit of the civil rights movement--a celebration piece," Brown told Susan Elliott of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In many ways Brown was an ideal choice for the commission. Not only did he share with King a common college--both graduated from Morehouse College--Brown was also music director of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King's home church. In fact, Dr. King's mother was one of Brown's predecessors in the position of choir director at Ebenezer, while Dr. King's father served as the congregation's pastor.
Although Brown is perhaps currently best known for his compositions and arrangements, he remains an active performer on stage in operatic roles and as a baritone soloist (most notably with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra). In 1988 he performed the title role in Bobby Paul's King Solomon with the Emory Theater. Six years later he appeared as part of the ensemble of the National Black Arts Festival's premiere production of Jubilee, a musical. In 1999 he participated in Georgia State University's workshop production of a new opera entitled Zabette. Recently he has also served as bass soloist for performances of both Mozart's and Brahms' Requiem. In the same Atlanta Symphony concert honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in which his arrangement of "We Shall Overcome" debuted, Brown performed the baritone solo in Howard Swanson's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."
Uzee Brown also continues to be active in promoting the education and careers of aspiring African-American musicians. In 2002 he completed a six-year term as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians, which, according to its website, is "the oldest organization dedicated to the preservation, encouragement and advocacy of all genres of the music of African-Americans in the world." He also cofounded the opera ensemble Onyx Opera Atlanta, which promotes the works of African American composers and serves as a venue for African American performers of classical music.
Awards
Received awards for study at the Graz Conservatory and the University of Siena; Outstanding musical director and arranger, Audelco Award in Black Theater, for Zion, 1992.
Works
Fix Me - Andrews University Singers
Livingstone College Concert Choir: "Deep River" arr. by Uzee Brown, Jr.
The Spirituals Project - Sankofa - Rock a mah Soul
My Notes:
I have downloaded 2 videos featuring the operatic voice of Jules Bledsoe (baritone). He was one the first African American who made a living singing on Broadway./
Jules Bledsoe (1898–1943) was a once renowned, but now semi-forgotten baritone, and the first African American artist to gain regular employment on Broadway, subsequent to Bert Williams, William Grant Still, Ford Dabney and others.
Jules Bledsoe was born in Waco, Texas in 1898. After graduating from Bishop College he studied at Virginia Union College and Columbia University. He debuted in New York's Aeolian Hall in 1924 which resulted in his obtaining management from impresario Sol Hurok.
Bledsoe performed in Frank Harling's opera Deep River in 1926 and he created the role of Joe in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat in 1927, after Paul Robeson was unable to appear in it because of scheduling conflicts. (Robeson first played the role five months after the Broadway opening, in the 1928 London production. He eventually eclipsed Bledsoe in the role, and became world-famous for his rendition of Ol' Man River. Robeson also played Joe in the 1932 Broadway production, in the 1936 film version, and a 1940 Los Angeles stage production, and he made many recordings of Ol' Man River, as opposed to Bledsoe, who made only one.)
Between 1929 and 1930, Bledsoe appeared in three musical film Shorts - Old Man Trouble, On the Levee, and Dear Old Southland.
Bledsoe toured the concert circuit and was a member of the Roxy Theatre's music staff as a part of Roxy's Gang. The 1935 BBC program "Songs of the Negro" was programmed by Bledsoe who then sang in Blackbirds of 1936, a London production.
Bledsoe's only recording of Ol' Man River, which he sang in the original production of Show Boat, is occasionally played on the NPR musical theatre program, A Night on the Town. His rendition of the song, especially in comparison to those made famous by Paul Robeson, William Warfield (in the 1951 film version), Bruce Hubbard (on the 1988 3-disc EMI album), and Michel Bell (in the Harold Prince revival of the show), is somewhat exaggeratedly melodramatic in the manner of early twentieth-century acting, and Bledsoe rolls all of his "r"'s, as a baritone might when singing his solos in an oratorio. A recently released album of vintage spiritual recordings features Bledsoe singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot in that same exaggeratedly melodramatic style,[1] which demonstrates that it was not unique to his performance of Ol' Man River. Bledsoe was also actually filmed singing the song - his rendition of it was included in the sound prologue to the part-talkie Show Boat (1929 film version).
Jules Bledsoe Collection
Jules Bledsoe - Showboat - Ol'man river - Decca K 631.wmv
I have downloaded the Negro Spirituals of Harry Burleigh, enjoy
Harry Burleigh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry "Harry" Thacker Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949), a baritone, was an African American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer. He was the first black composer to be instrumental in the development of a characteristically American music and he helped to make black music available to classically-trained artists both by introducing them to the music and by arranging the music in a more classical form.
Early life and education
Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. With the aid of a scholarship (obtained with the help of Francis MacDowell,[1] the mother of composer Edward MacDowell), Burleigh was accepted to the prestigious National Conservatory of Music in New York, eventually playing double bass in the Conservatory's orchestra. In 1893, he assisted the Czech composer AntonÃn Dvořák. Most of the work that Burleigh did for Dvořák was copy work, transferring the manuscript of Dvořák's 9th symphony for the parts for various instruments. However, Burleigh did have a role in introducing Dvořák to African American folk music. Despite the fact that much of the melodic material of the symphony can be traced to Dvořák's homeland, and that Dvořák himself perceived many of the 'American' tunes in it as being Native American, it has been claimed that "The first time a Negro song became a major theme in a great symphonic work... was in 1893, when AntonÃn
Dvořák's New World Symphony was played".
Though at first he was denied entrance to the Conservatory due to low grades, Mrs. MacDowell (the registrar) insisted that Burleigh try his entrance exam again. Days later, he received a scholarship. To help earn a small income during his years there, Burleigh was known to work for Mrs. MacDowell as a handyman, cleaning and working on anything she needed. According to some, Burleigh would sing spirituals while cleaning the halls of the Conservatory, which caught the attention of Dvořák, who invited Burleigh to sing to him. It has been alleged that this interaction with Burleigh inspired Dvořák to write down the spirituals, which he eventually incorporated into his “New World Symphony”. However, modern music historians doubt this account.
Singing career
Burleigh began his singing career as the baritone in his family’s quartet. By the time Burleigh left Erie in January 1892, he was singing with the city’s best vocalists at civic events and church gatherings. At the end of the summer of 1892, Burleigh gave a performance in the Adirondacks, at North Hudson, New York, as the featured soloist in “the summer school for Christian workers.” Nine months after arriving in New York City, Burleigh appeared in two Grand Encampment Concerts at the Metropolitan Church in Washington, D.C. as “the celebrated Western baritone.”
In 1894, he became a soloist for St. George's Episcopal church in New York City. There was opposition to hiring Burleigh at the all-white church from some parishioners, because of his race, at a time when other white New York Episcopal churches were forbidding black people to worship. J. P. Morgan, a member of St. George's at that time, cast the deciding vote to hire Burleigh. In spite of the initial problems obtaining the appointment, Burleigh became close to many of the members during his long tenure as a soloist at the church. In the late 1890s, Burleigh gained a reputation as a concert soloist, singing art songs, opera selections, as well as African American folk songs. From 1900 to 1925, Burleigh was also a member of the synagogue choir at the Temple Emanu-El in New York, the only African-American to sing there.
Arrangements and compositions
In the late 1890s, he also began to publish his own arrangements of art songs. About 1898 he began to compose his own songs and by the late 1910s, Burleigh was one of America's best-known composers of art songs. Beginning around 1910, Burleigh began to be a music editor for G. Ricordi, an Italian music publisher that had offices in New York.
Burleigh published several versions of the Negro spiritual "Deep River" in 1916 and 1917, and he quickly became known for his arrangements of spirituals for voice and piano; one of his arrangements in Common Metre is the hymn tune "McKee", used with John Oxenham's hymn In Christ There Is No East or West.[5] His arrangements helped to make spirituals a popular genre for concert singers, and within a few years, many notable singers performed Burleigh's arrangements.
Burleigh's art song arrangements of the spiritual and other sentimental songs were so popular during the late 1910s and 1920s, that almost no vocal recitalist gave a concert in a major city without occasionally singing them.[citation needed] John McCormack sang a number of Burleigh's songs in concert, including Little Mother of Mine (1917), Dear Old Pal of Mine (1918), Under a Blazing Star (1918), and In the Great Somewhere (1919). In many ways, the popularity of Burleigh's settings contributed to an explosion of popularity for the genre during the 1920s.
Beyond the Score - Dvorak New World Symphony - Henry T. Burleigh and the
Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949)
Balm in Gilead, arr. Henry T. Burleigh
H.T. Burleigh - Deep River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry "Harry" Thacker Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949), a baritone, was an African American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer. He was the first black composer to be instrumental in the development of a characteristically American music and he helped to make black music available to classically-trained artists both by introducing them to the music and by arranging the music in a more classical form.
Early life and education
Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. With the aid of a scholarship (obtained with the help of Francis MacDowell,[1] the mother of composer Edward MacDowell), Burleigh was accepted to the prestigious National Conservatory of Music in New York, eventually playing double bass in the Conservatory's orchestra. In 1893, he assisted the Czech composer AntonÃn Dvořák. Most of the work that Burleigh did for Dvořák was copy work, transferring the manuscript of Dvořák's 9th symphony for the parts for various instruments. However, Burleigh did have a role in introducing Dvořák to African American folk music. Despite the fact that much of the melodic material of the symphony can be traced to Dvořák's homeland, and that Dvořák himself perceived many of the 'American' tunes in it as being Native American, it has been claimed that "The first time a Negro song became a major theme in a great symphonic work... was in 1893, when AntonÃn
Dvořák's New World Symphony was played".
Though at first he was denied entrance to the Conservatory due to low grades, Mrs. MacDowell (the registrar) insisted that Burleigh try his entrance exam again. Days later, he received a scholarship. To help earn a small income during his years there, Burleigh was known to work for Mrs. MacDowell as a handyman, cleaning and working on anything she needed. According to some, Burleigh would sing spirituals while cleaning the halls of the Conservatory, which caught the attention of Dvořák, who invited Burleigh to sing to him. It has been alleged that this interaction with Burleigh inspired Dvořák to write down the spirituals, which he eventually incorporated into his “New World Symphony”. However, modern music historians doubt this account.
Singing career
Burleigh began his singing career as the baritone in his family’s quartet. By the time Burleigh left Erie in January 1892, he was singing with the city’s best vocalists at civic events and church gatherings. At the end of the summer of 1892, Burleigh gave a performance in the Adirondacks, at North Hudson, New York, as the featured soloist in “the summer school for Christian workers.” Nine months after arriving in New York City, Burleigh appeared in two Grand Encampment Concerts at the Metropolitan Church in Washington, D.C. as “the celebrated Western baritone.”
In 1894, he became a soloist for St. George's Episcopal church in New York City. There was opposition to hiring Burleigh at the all-white church from some parishioners, because of his race, at a time when other white New York Episcopal churches were forbidding black people to worship. J. P. Morgan, a member of St. George's at that time, cast the deciding vote to hire Burleigh. In spite of the initial problems obtaining the appointment, Burleigh became close to many of the members during his long tenure as a soloist at the church. In the late 1890s, Burleigh gained a reputation as a concert soloist, singing art songs, opera selections, as well as African American folk songs. From 1900 to 1925, Burleigh was also a member of the synagogue choir at the Temple Emanu-El in New York, the only African-American to sing there.
Arrangements and compositions
In the late 1890s, he also began to publish his own arrangements of art songs. About 1898 he began to compose his own songs and by the late 1910s, Burleigh was one of America's best-known composers of art songs. Beginning around 1910, Burleigh began to be a music editor for G. Ricordi, an Italian music publisher that had offices in New York.
Burleigh published several versions of the Negro spiritual "Deep River" in 1916 and 1917, and he quickly became known for his arrangements of spirituals for voice and piano; one of his arrangements in Common Metre is the hymn tune "McKee", used with John Oxenham's hymn In Christ There Is No East or West.[5] His arrangements helped to make spirituals a popular genre for concert singers, and within a few years, many notable singers performed Burleigh's arrangements.
Burleigh's art song arrangements of the spiritual and other sentimental songs were so popular during the late 1910s and 1920s, that almost no vocal recitalist gave a concert in a major city without occasionally singing them.[citation needed] John McCormack sang a number of Burleigh's songs in concert, including Little Mother of Mine (1917), Dear Old Pal of Mine (1918), Under a Blazing Star (1918), and In the Great Somewhere (1919). In many ways, the popularity of Burleigh's settings contributed to an explosion of popularity for the genre during the 1920s.
Beyond the Score - Dvorak New World Symphony - Henry T. Burleigh and the
Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949)
Balm in Gilead, arr. Henry T. Burleigh
H.T. Burleigh - Deep River
Information Taken from Wikipedia/
Negro spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith. Some may also have served as socio-political protests veiled as assimilation to white American culture. They originated among enslaved Africans in the United States. Slavery was introduced to the British colonies in the early 17th century, and enslaved people largely replaced indentured servants as an economic labor force during the 17th century. In the United States, these people would remain in bondage for the entire 18th century and much of the 19th century. Most were not fully emancipated until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the
During slavery in the United States, there were systematic efforts to de-Africanize the captive Black workforce. Slaves were forbidden from speaking their native languages, and were generally converted to Christianity.
Because they were unable to express themselves freely in ways that were spiritually meaningful to them, enslaved Africans often held secret religious services. During these meetings,worshipers were free to engage in African religious rituals such as spiritual possession, speaking in tongues and shuffling in counterclockwise ring shouts to communal shouts and chants. It was there also that enslaved Africans further crafted the impromptu musical expression of field songs into the so-called "line singing" and intricate, multi-part harmonies of struggle and overcoming, faith, forbearance and hope that have come to be known as Negro spirituals.
Restrictions were placed on the religious expression of slaves. Rows of benches in places of worship discouraged congregants from spontaneously jumping to their feet and dancing. The use of musical instruments of any kind often was forbidden, and slaves were ordered to desist from the "paganism" of the practice of spiritual possession.
However, several traditions rooted in Africa continue to the present day in African-American spiritual practices. Examples include the "call and response" style of preaching in which the speaker speaks for an interval and the congregation responds in unison in a continual pattern throughout the sermon. The "call and response" is often accompanied by instruments and sounds much like a song. Speaking in tongues is a persistent practice, as is "shouting." Shouting may involve anything from jumping in one place repeatedly, running through the sanctuary, raising hands and arms in the air, shouting traditional praise phrases, or being "slain in the spirit" (fainting). The locations and the era may be different; but the same emphasis on combining sound, movement, emotion, and communal interaction into one focus on faith and its role in overcoming struggles, whether as an individual or a people group, remain the same
My Notes: Celebration of the "Negro Spiritual". Many older stars such as Paul Robeson, Jesse Norman, Kathleen Battle were known for singing Negro Spirituals before they became great opera stars. It provided them with some of the vocal training needed before moving on to opera. Enjoy/
Information Taken from Wikipedia/
Negro spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith. Some may also have served as socio-political protests veiled as assimilation to white American culture. They originated among enslaved Africans in the United States. Slavery was introduced to the British colonies in the early 17th century, and enslaved people largely replaced indentured servants as an economic labor force during the 17th century. In the United States, these people would remain in bondage for the entire 18th century and much of the 19th century. Most were not fully emancipated until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the
During slavery in the United States, there were systematic efforts to de-Africanize the captive Black workforce. Slaves were forbidden from speaking their native languages, and were generally converted to Christianity.
Because they were unable to express themselves freely in ways that were spiritually meaningful to them, enslaved Africans often held secret religious services. During these meetings,worshipers were free to engage in African religious rituals such as spiritual possession, speaking in tongues and shuffling in counterclockwise ring shouts to communal shouts and chants. It was there also that enslaved Africans further crafted the impromptu musical expression of field songs into the so-called "line singing" and intricate, multi-part harmonies of struggle and overcoming, faith, forbearance and hope that have come to be known as Negro spirituals.
Restrictions were placed on the religious expression of slaves. Rows of benches in places of worship discouraged congregants from spontaneously jumping to their feet and dancing. The use of musical instruments of any kind often was forbidden, and slaves were ordered to desist from the "paganism" of the practice of spiritual possession.
However, several traditions rooted in Africa continue to the present day in African-American spiritual practices. Examples include the "call and response" style of preaching in which the speaker speaks for an interval and the congregation responds in unison in a continual pattern throughout the sermon. The "call and response" is often accompanied by instruments and sounds much like a song. Speaking in tongues is a persistent practice, as is "shouting." Shouting may involve anything from jumping in one place repeatedly, running through the sanctuary, raising hands and arms in the air, shouting traditional praise phrases, or being "slain in the spirit" (fainting). The locations and the era may be different; but the same emphasis on combining sound, movement, emotion, and communal interaction into one focus on faith and its role in overcoming struggles, whether as an individual or a people group, remain the same
Jessye Norman 'Give Me Jesus' 1990
Kathleen Battle - Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air
Kathleen Battle - 3 Spirituals (Encores) - Salzburg Festival 1987
Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman: "Deep River" 11 / 22
Cantata, Pt. 1 (Negro Spiritual) / John Carter
Cantata, Pt. 2 (Negro Spiritual) / John Carter
Calvary (Negro Spiritual) / Betty Jackson King
For You There is No Song, Darryl Taylor, countertenor (Adams)
dNessa - I Wanna Be Ready – Spiritual
Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air (Negro Spiritual)
Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus (Negro Spiritual)
Deep River (Negro Spiritual) / H. T. Burleigh
Little Boy (Negro Spiritual) / Roland Hayes
Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman: "Scandalize My Name
Information Taken from Wikipedia/
Negro spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith. Some may also have served as socio-political protests veiled as assimilation to white American culture. They originated among enslaved Africans in the United States. Slavery was introduced to the British colonies in the early 17th century, and enslaved people largely replaced indentured servants as an economic labor force during the 17th century. In the United States, these people would remain in bondage for the entire 18th century and much of the 19th century. Most were not fully emancipated until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the
During slavery in the United States, there were systematic efforts to de-Africanize the captive Black workforce. Slaves were forbidden from speaking their native languages, and were generally converted to Christianity.
Because they were unable to express themselves freely in ways that were spiritually meaningful to them, enslaved Africans often held secret religious services. During these meetings,worshipers were free to engage in African religious rituals such as spiritual possession, speaking in tongues and shuffling in counterclockwise ring shouts to communal shouts and chants. It was there also that enslaved Africans further crafted the impromptu musical expression of field songs into the so-called "line singing" and intricate, multi-part harmonies of struggle and overcoming, faith, forbearance and hope that have come to be known as Negro spirituals.
Restrictions were placed on the religious expression of slaves. Rows of benches in places of worship discouraged congregants from spontaneously jumping to their feet and dancing. The use of musical instruments of any kind often was forbidden, and slaves were ordered to desist from the "paganism" of the practice of spiritual possession.
However, several traditions rooted in Africa continue to the present day in African-American spiritual practices. Examples include the "call and response" style of preaching in which the speaker speaks for an interval and the congregation responds in unison in a continual pattern throughout the sermon. The "call and response" is often accompanied by instruments and sounds much like a song. Speaking in tongues is a persistent practice, as is "shouting." Shouting may involve anything from jumping in one place repeatedly, running through the sanctuary, raising hands and arms in the air, shouting traditional praise phrases, or being "slain in the spirit" (fainting). The locations and the era may be different; but the same emphasis on combining sound, movement, emotion, and communal interaction into one focus on faith and its role in overcoming struggles, whether as an individual or a people group, remain the same
Jessye Norman 'Give Me Jesus' 1990
Kathleen Battle - Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air
Kathleen Battle - 3 Spirituals (Encores) - Salzburg Festival 1987
Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman: "Deep River" 11 / 22
Cantata, Pt. 1 (Negro Spiritual) / John Carter
Cantata, Pt. 2 (Negro Spiritual) / John Carter
Calvary (Negro Spiritual) / Betty Jackson King
For You There is No Song, Darryl Taylor, countertenor (Adams)
dNessa - I Wanna Be Ready – Spiritual
Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air (Negro Spiritual)
Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus (Negro Spiritual)
Deep River (Negro Spiritual) / H. T. Burleigh
Little Boy (Negro Spiritual) / Roland Hayes
Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman: "Scandalize My Name
Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks at The Hague Jazz Festival 2008
Barbara Hendricks (born November 20, 1948) is an African American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland on Lake Geneva since 1985. She is a citizen of Sweden.
Early life and education
Hendricks was born in Stephens, Arkansas. She graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry at the age of 20. She then attended Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she studied with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and participated in master classes led by soprano Maria Callas. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in music.
Musical career
In 1974, Hendricks made her professional operatic debut in Europe at the Glyndebourne Festival and in America at the San Francisco Opera. During her career, she has appeared at major opera houses throughout the world, including the Opéra National de Paris, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and La Scala. In 1998 she sang Liu in the historical performance of Turandot at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Hendricks has performed more than twenty roles, twelve of which she has recorded.
Hendricks has appeared on film as Mimì in La bohème, and in 1995 she sang the role of Anne Truelove in the Swedish film Rucklarens väg, an adaptation of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress.[3] In 2007, she appeared in the film Disengagement by Amos Gitai and starring Juliette Binoche. She also recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde which is the main theme for the film.
Hendricks also performs jazz music and made her jazz debut at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1994. Since that time, she has performed at major jazz festivals around the world. Hendricks is also known for her love of chamber music and has organized a number of chamber music festivals.
In 2004, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, she created the role of Angel in the world premiere of Péter Eötvös' opera Angels in America, after the play by Tony Kushner.
In January 2006, she left EMI, and created the new label Arte Verum for which she records exclusively.
Humanitarian work
José van Dam and Barbara Hendricks, Brussels 2006
Hendricks has dedicated much of her life to the plight of refugees and has been a long-time supporter of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 1987 and performs special tasks for that organization.
Since 2000, she has been a member of the Council of the Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust. The RET is dedicated to post-primary education of refugee youth all over the world.
In 1991 and 1993 Hendricks gave two concerts in the war-torn formerly Yugoslavian cities of Dubrovnik and Sarajevo. In 1998 she founded the Barbara Hendricks Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation, which seeks to facilitate reconciliation where conflicts have already occurred.
In 2001 she performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, at the invitation of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kofi Annan. In May 2002, she performed at the East Timor Independence Day Ceremony.
Awards
In 1986, Hendricks was made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; in 1992 she was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. In 2000, she was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. In 2001, Hendricks received the Lions Clubs International Award for the work of her foundation.
Barbara Hendricks - Ain't that a rockin'
Barbara Hendricks with Mats Bergström (guitar) and Georg Riedel (double bass). Negro-spiritual, extract from the New Christmas album: Shout for Joy - Spiritual Christmas | Noël Sacré // Barbara Hendricks avec Mats Bergström (guitare) et Georg Riedel (contrebasse). Negro spiritual, extrait du nouvel album de Noël: Shout for Joy - Spiritual Christmas | Noël Sacré // www.arteverum.com
Negro Spiritual: "Ride on, King Jesus
Career
While attending Juilliard, she appeared in revivals of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Four Saints in Three Acts, by Virgil Thomson. The Porgy and Bess cast toured the United States and Europe with baritone William Warfield and Price singing the title roles. The two singers married in 1952, but the pressures of their separate careers eventually forced them to part.
Price was engaged to sing the lead for the National Broadcasting Company's production of Puccini's Tosca in 1955. There were strenuous objections, and some cancellations, from local affiliates; nonetheless, her dramatic portrayal and vocal performance in this historic broadcast were a critical success.
Other televised operatic roles soon followed. Then, in 1957, Price sang Verdi's Aida for the first time. She identified strongly with the character, and her success led her to Vienna to sing for conductor Herbert von Karajan and, in 1960, to the stage of La Scala.
In January, 1961, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Her performance was a success not only to the audience who witnessed it, but to the New York critics as well. She was signed for additional roles there and at other houses around the world. By the mid 1960's, her reputation had grown to the extent that she was offered the lead in the Samuel Barber opera commissioned especially for the opening of the Met's new facilities at Lincoln Center. The opening performance of Antony and Cleopatra in 1966, though marred by the extremes taken in costuming and staging, solidified Price's place as one of the world's great divas.
Leontyne Price "D'amor sull'ali rosee" Il Trovatore by Verdi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Giuseppe Verdi
Operas[show]
v · d · e
Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio GarcÃa Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto. This gave the composer the opportunity to propose significant revisions, which were accomplished under his direction by the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare,[1] and they are seen largely in the expansion of the role of Leonora.
The opera was first performed at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, on 19 January 1853 where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world".[2] Today it is given very frequently and is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It appears at number 23 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide
Giuseppe Verdi
In the years that followed, Price's notoriety allowed her the freedom to select roles she wanted, often taking rests between runs. She increased the number of recitals in the 1970's and made several operatic and concert recordings, earning 18 Grammy awards over the years. Price retired from the opera stage at the Met in 1985 with her signature role, Aida. This live telecast was viewed by millions, and her performance of the aria, "O Patria Mia," was the top ranked "Great Moments at the Met: Viewer's Choice" selection.
Career
While attending Juilliard, she appeared in revivals of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Four Saints in Three Acts, by Virgil Thomson. The Porgy and Bess cast toured the United States and Europe with baritone William Warfield and Price singing the title roles. The two singers married in 1952, but the pressures of their separate careers eventually forced them to part.
Price was engaged to sing the lead for the National Broadcasting Company's production of Puccini's Tosca in 1955. There were strenuous objections, and some cancellations, from local affiliates; nonetheless, her dramatic portrayal and vocal performance in this historic broadcast were a critical success.
Other televised operatic roles soon followed. Then, in 1957, Price sang Verdi's Aida for the first time. She identified strongly with the character, and her success led her to Vienna to sing for conductor Herbert von Karajan and, in 1960, to the stage of La Scala.
In January, 1961, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Her performance was a success not only to the audience who witnessed it, but to the New York critics as well. She was signed for additional roles there and at other houses around the world. By the mid 1960's, her reputation had grown to the extent that she was offered the lead in the Samuel Barber opera commissioned especially for the opening of the Met's new facilities at Lincoln Center. The opening performance of Antony and Cleopatra in 1966, though marred by the extremes taken in costuming and staging, solidified Price's place as one of the world's great divas.
Leontyne Price "D'amor sull'ali rosee" Il Trovatore by Verdi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Giuseppe Verdi
Operas[show]
v · d · e
Il trovatore (The Troubadour) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador (1836) by Antonio GarcÃa Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto. This gave the composer the opportunity to propose significant revisions, which were accomplished under his direction by the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare,[1] and they are seen largely in the expansion of the role of Leonora.
The opera was first performed at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, on 19 January 1853 where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world".[2] Today it is given very frequently and is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It appears at number 23 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide
In the years that followed, Price's notoriety allowed her the freedom to select roles she wanted, often taking rests between runs. She increased the number of recitals in the 1970's and made several operatic and concert recordings, earning 18 Grammy awards over the years. Price retired from the opera stage at the Met in 1985 with her signature role, Aida. This live telecast was viewed by millions, and her performance of the aria, "O Patria Mia," was the top ranked "Great Moments at the Met: Viewer's Choice" selection.
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