Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was born on the 27th of February 1897 in Philadelphia. Her father sold ice and coal at the Reading Terminal while her mother worked as a schoolteacher before state laws barred black teachers from holding such positions without degrees. The family lived near South Philadelphia where they attended the Union Baptist Church. Marian joined the junior church choir at age six under the guidance of her aunt Mary. Aunt Mary took the young girl to concerts at local churches and benefit events throughout the city. By age ten, Anderson sang for functions earning twenty-five or fifty cents per song. As she entered her teens, she earned four or five dollars for singing, a significant sum during that era.
Anderson traveled to Europe after receiving a Rosenwald Fellowship worth fifteen hundred dollars. She studied with Sara Charles-Cahier and Geni Sadero before launching a successful tour across the continent. In the summer of 1930, she visited Scandinavia where she met Finnish pianist Kosti Vehanen. He became her regular accompanist and vocal coach for many years. During a concert in Helsinki, she encountered Jean Sibelius who invited them to his home. Sibelius asked his wife to serve champagne instead of coffee and complimented her performance deeply. He felt she had penetrated the Nordic soul and created a new arrangement of Solitude dedicated to her in 1939. In 1935, conductor Arturo Toscanini told her she possessed a voice heard once in a hundred years.
In 1939, Sarah Corbin Robert denied permission for Anderson to sing at DAR Constitution Hall under a white performers-only policy. The Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow an integrated audience despite Washington DC being a segregated city. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the organization in protest over the decision. A mass protest was organized by the Marian Anderson Citizens Committee which included church leaders and activists. Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes arranged an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The event took place on Easter Sunday April 9 before a crowd exceeding seventy-five thousand people. Millions listened via national radio broadcasts while Anderson sang My Country Tis of Thee as the opening number.
On the 7th of January 1955, Anderson became the first African American singer to perform with the Metropolitan Opera. She accepted an invitation from director Rudolf Bing to sing the role of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. Zinka Milanov and Herva Nelli appeared opposite her as Amelia during that historic evening. Anderson later recalled trembling when the curtain rose on the second scene while mixing the witch's brew. The audience applauded repeatedly before she could even sing a note causing her to feel like tightening into a knot. Although she never appeared with the company again, she remained a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera company for decades.
Anderson toured India and the Far East as a goodwill ambassador through the U.S. State Department in 1957. She traveled within twelve weeks giving twenty-four concerts across multiple countries. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed her a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee shortly after. In 1963, she performed at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom alongside other civil rights leaders. That same year she received one of the newly reinstituted Presidential Medals of Freedom for meritorious contributions to national interest. Her work included benefit concerts for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congress of Racial Equality throughout the 1960s.
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Common questions
When was Marian Anderson born and where did she grow up?
Marian Anderson was born on the 27th of February 1897 in Philadelphia. Her family lived near South Philadelphia while her father sold ice and coal at the Reading Terminal.
Who accompanied Marian Anderson during her European tours starting in 1930?
Finnish pianist Kosti Vehanen became her regular accompanist and vocal coach after they met in Helsinki during the summer of 1930. He performed with her for many years following their initial encounter.
Why did Marian Anderson perform at the Lincoln Memorial instead of DAR Constitution Hall in 1939?
The Daughters of the American Revolution denied permission for her to sing at DAR Constitution Hall under a white performers-only policy. Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes arranged an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as an alternative.
What historic achievement did Marian Anderson accomplish on the 7th of January 1955?
Marian Anderson became the first African American singer to perform with the Metropolitan Opera on that date. She accepted an invitation from director Rudolf Bing to sing the role of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
How did Marian Anderson serve as a goodwill ambassador for the United States government in 1957?
She toured India and the Far East giving twenty-four concerts across multiple countries within twelve weeks while representing the U.S. State Department. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed her a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee shortly after this tour.