I wanted to pay a tribute to the Great Marian Anderson. Anderson was an African-American cantralto and one of the most universal marking opera singers of the twentieth century. Marian Anderson was born on February 27th, 1897 right in the heart of Philadelphia, PA "The City of Brotherly Love." She was the daughter of John Berkley Anderson and Annie Delilah Rucker. She had two sisters whom were also singers Alice "Alyse" and Ethel. She attended South Philadelphia High School.
Alan Blyth, a music critic stated "Her voice was a rich, vibrant contralto of intrinsic beauty." Her singing voice opened up doors to many major musical venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 to 1965. She performed in concerts with fine orchestras. Anderson was offered numerous occasions to play a role but she perfered singing than acting. On January 7th, 1955, Anderson made a ground breaking move for struggling black artist and was the first black to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York CIty. The only time she performed on stage was as Ulrica in the show Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. She perfered to recite her songs in ritual and sung of literature in American songs, spirituals, lieder, and opera.
In 1939, the Daughters of Revolution (DAR) rejected her to sing at the Constitution Hall. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt showed favor to Anderson to sing on April 9th, 1939 at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. Anderson was an ambassador for "goodwill" United States Department of State and for Human Rights on the United Nations Human RIghts Committee. She was an advocate for the series of civil rights movements. At one movement conducted in 1963, she sung during the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" Anderson was rewarded and honored for her many achievements including a 1991 Grammy Life Achievement Award.
Source:
Marian Anderson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson
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