Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield
(1809 - 1876)
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield & Theodore Drury
For much of America’s musical history, classical music was considered largely the province of white artists. The prevailing belief was that African-American artists lacked the intellectual capacity and emotional maturity to create music of any artistic depth. Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, born enslaved and largely a self-taught singer, was a significant figure in dismantling that notion. As one critic from the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted, “It was amusing to behold the utter surprise and intense pleasure which were depicted on the faces of her listeners; they seemed to express - ‘Why, we see the face of a black woman, but hear the voice of an angel, what does it mean?’”. With the acclaim garnered from her national tour (1851-1853), Greenfield became the first nationally recognized African American concert singer and was considered the first Black pop star. After her successful American tour Greenfield toured Europe, and with her command performance for Queen Victoria became the first Black person to sing at Buckingham Palace. Opera singers from Sissieretta Jones, to Camilla Williams and the opera singers and stars of today, have walked a path blazed in part by Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield.
“Greenfield had a voice the likes of which the American public had seldom heard from any singer, white or black.”
Another important figure in the history of African-Americans in opera is baritone and impresario Theodore Drury. Born in Shelby County, Kentucky around 1867 but leaving few personal records, not much is known about Drury’s early life. By the mid-1880s Drury had moved to New York and as his recital tours garnered him acclaim by both Black and White audiences he became widely known as a talented baritone. At the turn of the 20th century when no white opera company would hire Black singers, those with operatic aspirations like Drury had few routes to the stage. Refusing to accept the limitations placed on him, Drury chose to work around the institutions that excluded him and in 1900 formed The Theodore Drury Grand Opera Company. The company’s first performance on May 14, 1900 was a production of Carmen at New York City’s Lexington Avenue Opera House and is recognized as the first performance of grand opera where the cast, creative team and much of the audience were African American. Aside from the short-lived Colored American Opera Company founded in 1873, there wasn’t much precedent for Drury’s idea. The Theodore Drury Grand Opera Company operated from 1900-1910 and became virtually the only opportunity for Black singers to perform full operatic roles until the 1940s.
Theodore Drury
(1867 - 1943)
When we think of Black voices in opera, we typically think of names like Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, George Shirley, Grace Bumbry, and Simon Estes. As important as their individual contributions and impact are, as well as those of other artists we haven’t the time to highlight, they’re all really links in a chain connecting Black musicians in opera from the 19th and early 20th centuries to the rising Black opera stars of today (Seven Black Opera Singers That Are Killing the Game), and their stories give us examples of the kind of courage and perseverance possessed by those yet to appear on the horizon.
Being socially subjective, the arts present particular challenges in everything from finding financial support to gaining acceptance by society. To deal with the impact of racist beliefs and practices that amplify those challenges, African American artists have always had to be bold and inventive, and demonstrate the kind of courage and fortitude exemplified by the people profiled this month. The success and impact of those we profiled is even more impressive when looked at through the lens of their ability to meet and surmount those challenges during ugly periods in American history like antebellum America when Black people weren’t seen as fully human, through the Jim Crow era when segregation was the law of the land and the continued subjugation of Black people the societal ethos, and the resistance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Their courage, personal sacrifice, and dedication to their craft and their community have added layer upon layer of depth to the powerful history and impact of Blackness in American music. The triumphs and legacy of that history are a particular source of pride for African Americans, especially those in the arts. And it should be, and if better known could be a source of pride and inspiration for all Americans interested in the past, present and future of American music.
WRITTEN BY:
CLINT JOHNSON (He, Him, His)
Lower 2nd Tenor
Membership Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Representative
Clint has been an active participant in the gay choral movement for 42 years, the last 35 as a member of SFGMC. During his tenure here he's had the opportunity to experience the organization from multiple angles - business and administrative services (box office and general office aide), artistic/creative (singer, soloist, narrator, writer), administrative/ middle-management/creative (subgroup administrator). His current administrative role is Membership Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Representative on the Leadership Team.