Blacks in opera : an encyclopedia of people and companies, 1873-1993
Some persons view the belated 1955 debut of Marian Anderson at the Metropolitan Opera as the benchmark for African Americans' entry into the world of grand opera. In fact, many black Americans had produced or performed in opera as early as 1873. Since these classically trained black artists could not perform in the major operatic venues because of racist attitudes toward them, several all-black opera companies founded prior to 1900 provided venues for them. This handsome handbook, which combines biographies, discographies, videographies, and bibliographies into a single volume, will be welcome to reference librarians and researchers. It lists alphabetically some 500 African American composers, conductors, singers, choral directors, stage directors, choreographers, critics, et al., associated with professional opera productions. A typical entry includes the artist's name, dates, music education, musical debuts, repertoire, performances with opera companies and orchestras, awards, recordings, and videos. Entries for major performers (e.g., Jessye Norman) include performance reviews and a briefly annotated bibliography. Reviews of nonoperatic recordings, films, and videos are excluded. Two appendixes list persons by music occupation and place of birth. "Highlights of Black Achievement in Opera" chronicles important historical operatic periods and personages
Print Book, English, ©1995
McFarland, Jefferson, N.C., ©1995