{"id":72608,"date":"2020-02-04T09:44:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T17:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/?p=72608"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T20:59:13","slug":"lost-voices-nine-black-women-who-changed-opera-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/lost-voices-nine-black-women-who-changed-opera-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Black Women Who Changed Opera Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this list, we\u2019ll celebrate some of the great Black opera singers who have passed on into history, and paved the way for Black artists who are still with us. Their stories and recordings are a treasure for listeners and an epiphany for vocalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (c.1819-1876) was born into slavery in Mississippi. A pianist, harpist, and foremost a soprano, she challenged listeners\u2019 preconceptions in her 1851 national concert tour. Greenfield showed astonishing resilience performing under outrageous conditions: her manager wouldn\u2019t allow Black patrons to attend her concerts, and reviewers were constantly distracted by the \u201cnovelty\u201d of a Black woman beautifully singing operatic repertoire. On March 31, 1853, she debuted at New York City\u2019s Metropolitan Hall, and despite being met with laughter when she took the stage, her performance was critically acclaimed and led to a successful European concert tour, during which she sang for Queen Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wikimedia Commons: Portrait of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Sissieretta<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Sissieretta Jones<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sissieretta Jones (1868\/9-1933) was the first African-American woman to sing at Carnegie Hall, headlining a concert there in 1893. She sang at Madison Square Garden (conducted by Dvo\u0159\u00e1k), toured internationally, and sang for President Harrison and for European royalty. Critics dubbed her \u201cThe Black Patti,\u201d <\/em>after Italian soprano Adelina Patti; Jones disliked the monicker but it dogged her throughout her career. From 1896 to 1915 she toured with the \u201cBlack Patti Troubadours,\u201d <\/em>a company whose performances began with vaudeville acts but closed with staged operatic arias by Jones. In a time of segregated opera, this was Jones\u2019 only opportunity to be an opera singer in her own country. After leaving the stage to care for her ill mother, Jones passed away in relative obscurity, but recent scholars have led efforts to celebrate her legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Wikimedia Commons: portrait of Sissieretta Jones, 1904<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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