List of African-American women in classical music

This is a list of African-American women in classical music. African-American women who are notable in various fields of classical music are listed here.

Composers

Conductors

Educators

Instrumentalists

Opera singers

  • Harolyn Blackwell performs in the East Room of the White House
    Adele Addison (born 1925), operatic soprano also performing in recitals and concerts
  • Roberta Alexander (born 1949), international operatic soprano
  • Betty Allen (1927–2009), mezzo-soprano who performed in concerts and operas from the 1950s and later served as an educator
  • Marian Anderson (1897–1993), singer of classical music and spirituals, including opera
  • Martina Arroyo (born 1936), major international operatic soprano
  • Kathleen Battle (born 1948), operatic soprano and concert performer
  • Harolyn Blackwell (born 1955), lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's leading opera houses
  • Angel Blue (1984), operatic soprano and classical crossover artist
  • Angela Brown (born 1963), operatic soprano admired for performances of Verdi heroines
  • Débria Brown (1936–2001), operatic mezzo-soprano and educator
  • Janai Brugger (born 1983), operatic soprano performing in leading roles in several opera companies
  • Hazel Joan Bryant (1939–1983), actress, opera singer, director and playwright
  • Grace Bumbry (born 1937), leading mezzo-soprano of her generation
    Barbara Hendricks at the Festiwalu Dialogu Czterech Kultur, Łódź, Poland.
  • Karla Burns (1954–2021), operatic mezzo-soprano and actress
  • Alyson Cambridge (fl. 2000s), operatic soprano, classical and jazz concert singer and actress
  • Cynthia Clarey (born 1949), operatic soprano and mezzo-soprano and classical concert performer
  • Barbara Smith Conrad (1937–2017), operatic mezzo-soprano and educator
  • Michèle Crider (born 1959), international lirico spinto soprano appearing in leading opera houses
  • Clamma Dale (born 1948), international operatic soprano and concert performer acclaimed for her portrayal of Bess
  • Billie Lynn Daniel (fl. 1960s), operatic soprano best known for performing Clara in Porgy and Bess
  • Ellabelle Davis (1907–1960), operatic soprano remembered for performing Aida in the 1940s
  • Gloria Davy (1931–2012), operatic soprano and concert singer who settled in Switzerland
  • Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894–1962), musician, educator and founding director of the National Negro Opera Company
  • Mattiwilda Dobbs (1925–2015), coloratura soprano, early international African-American performer
  • Ruby Elzy (1908–1943), pioneering short-lived African-American operatic soprano
  • Lillian Evanti (1890–1967), classical concert performer and opera singer who gained fame in France
  • Maria Ewing (born 1950), operatic soprano and mezzo-soprano, classical and jazz concert performer
  • Cassandra Extavour (fl. 2000s), Canadian geneticist and classical soprano singer
  • Wilhelmenia Fernandez aka Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, soprano, actress. (1949 – 2024)
  • Zelma Watson George (1903–1994), philanthropist, musician and opera singer
  • Gail Varina Gilmore (born 1950), gospel and mezzo-soprano opera singer, known for performing Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal
  • Denyce Graves (born 1964), operatic mezzo-soprano known for performing the title roles in Carmen and Samson and Delilah
  • Elizabeth Greenfield (c. 1820–1876), best known African-American concert singer of her times, also conductor and educator
  • Reri Grist (born 1932), major international coloratura soprano and concert performer
  • Cynthia Haymon (born 1958), soprano who has performed in opera and modern classical works
  • Barbara Hendricks (born 1948), operatic soprano and concert singer who has settled in Switzerland
  • Caterina Jarboro (1898–1986), pioneering African-American opera singer who performed the title role in Aida in 1933
  • Betty Jones (1930–2019), operatic spinto soprano who performed in the 1970s
  • Isola Jones (born 1949), mezzo-soprano opera singer and educator
  • Sissieretta Jones (c.1869–1933), successful classical soprano who performed for American presidents and the British royal family
  • Jonita Lattimore (fl. 1990s), soprano and educator who has performed in operatic roles and oratorio engagements
  • Marquita Lister (born 1961), operatic soprano known for performing Bess in Porgy and Bess as well as Aida and Salome
  • Marvis Martin (born 1956), operatic soprano best known for her concert performances and recitals
  • Myra Merritt (fl. 1980s), operatic soprano and educator
  • Abbie Mitchell (1884–1960), operatic soprano who performed Clara in the première of Porgy and Bess
  • Latonia Moore (born 1979), classical soprano who has performed with leading opera companies
  • Jessye Norman (1945–2019), celebrated dramatic soprano who performed leading roles in opera and sang in recitals
  • Ailyn Pérez (born 1979), operatic soprano known for her interpretation of Violetta, Mimi and Thaïs
  • Jillian Patricia Pirtle (born 1983), operatic soprano
  • Leontyne Price (born 1927), internationally acclaimed soprano at the Metropolitan Opera
  • Florence Quivar (born 1944), operatic mezzo-soprano who gave over 100 performance at the Metropolitan Opera
  • La Julia Rhea (1898–1992), pioneering African-American operatic soprano who performed in Chicago from 1937
  • Marie Selika Williams (1849–1937), coloratura soprano, the first African American to perform at the White House
  • Murial Smith (1923–1985), singer who starred in musical theatre and opera from the 1940s
  • Florence Cole Talbert (1890–1961), operatic soprano, music educator and musician
  • Shirley Verrett (1931–2010), operatic mezzo-soprano known for singing works of Verdi and Donizetti from the late 1960s
  • Felicia Weathers (born 1937), international soprano opera and concert singer
  • Camilla Williams (1919–2012), operatic soprano and educator who performed nationally and internationally
  • Ivory Winston (1911–1996), coloratura soprano, "Iowa's First Lady of Song"

Pianists

See also

References

  1. ^ Peña, Tomas. "The Convent Maestro: Sister Marie Seraphine Gotay". Puerto Rico Project. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Lester (1988). "Composers of Color of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans: The History behind the Music". Black Music Research Journal. 8. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.