“My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, To begin with, I have two handicaps—those of sex and race. I am a woman; and I have some Negro blood in my veins.” These are the words of composer Florence Price in a letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky in an attempt to find a champion for her work. Koussevitzky would not be among those to {…}
(Credit: Eric Woolsey) On June 15, 2019, Terence Blanchard’s opera “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” premiered in full at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Described by the composer as “opera in jazz,” the work will be the first opera by a Black composer ever staged at the Metropolitan Opera. The libretto by Kasi Lemmons is based on the memoir {…}
(Credit: Ken Howard) Terrence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s “Champion” is termed an “opera in jazz,” a unique choice of words. There are a lot of operas in the history of the artform that have gone under the designation of “jazz opera,” but the choice here speaks to Blanchard’s decision to use the full range of jazz expression in the context {…}
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, born on August 15, 1875, would go on to become a prominent conductor and composer. Born in Holborn, London, he would be brought up in Croydon, Surrey by his mother and stepfather. His early musical interests were championed by his grandfather and his extended family would eventually arrange for him to study at the Royal College of Music {…}
(Credit: Carl Van Vechten) Born on May 11, 1895, William Grant Still would go on to become one of the most iconic African-American composers of all time. Still was born in Woodville Mississippi. His father William Grant Still Sr. was a teacher, partner in a grocery store, and performed as a local bandleader; unfortunately, he would pass away when his {…}
In the 1940s and 1950s, Risë Stevens was one of the Metropolitan Opera’s brightest stars. The mezzo-soprano was born Risë Gus Steenberg on June 11, 1913, in New York City. She studied at Juilliard and made her debut in Thomas’ “Mignon” in Prague. After singing at the Vienna State Opera, Teatro Colón, and Glyndebourne, Stevens returned to the United States {…}
Back in the second half of the 1700s, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was the talk of Paris. These days, the composer, born in the French colony of Guadeloupe to a wealthy planter and an African slave on Dec. 25, 1745, remains relatively unknown. Saint-Georges’ rise started in the military school where he was said to be among the greatest {…}
“Die ägyptische Helena,” premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on June 6, 1928. In English, “The Egyptian Helen” was adapted by librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal based on the works of Euripides concerning the Trojan War. A less successful work of Strauss, the opera was revised in 1933. The dynamic role of Helena was written for Maria Jeritza, a larger-than-life soprano in {…}
Though his legacy is strongly tied to the negative and wildly fabricated portrayal in the play and film “Amadeus,” Antonio Salieri was a respected and notable composer in his own right. One opera that best represents the composer’s ability is “Armida,” which was first performed at the Vienna Burgtheater June 2, 1771. Salieri’s first opera, “Le Donne Letterate,” premiered to {…}
During the nineteenth century, British soprano Anna Bishop stood out as one of the finest singers of her day – and her reputation truly reached all the corners of the globe. Born Ann Rivière in London in January 1810, she trained at the recently created Royal Academy of Music and was taught by composer Henry Bishop, the most popular English {…}
During the early twentieth century, Australian soprano Nellie Melba was one of the most in-demand singers in the world. Born May 19, 1861 as the eldest of seven children, Helen Porter Mitchell eventually adopted the name “Melba” in honor of her hometown, Melbourne. She studied music in Paris and debuted at La Monnaie in 1887 as Gilda in “Rigoletto.” After {…}