Posted on 03/18/2009 11:16:29 AM PDT by Borges
OSLO – Anne Wiggins Brown, the African-American soprano who starred as the original Bess in George Gershwin's landmark folk opera "Porgy and Bess" but saw her career limited by racial discrimination, has died at age 96.
"Porgy and Bess," first performed in 1935, was based on DuBose Heyward's novel "Porgy" about a crippled beggar in love with Bess and living in the fictional Catfish Row slum in Charleston, South Carolina. It was a rare look in its time at the lives of some African-Americans and has since become a popular opera standard.
Brown died Friday in Oslo, where she had lived since 1948 after complaining of racial discrimination in the United States.
"She died on Friday the 13th. That was always her lucky day, so it seemed almost appropriate," her daughter Paula Schjelderup told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Brown is acknowledged as the inspiration that caused Gershwin to keep adding songs for her character in a process that turned "Porgy" into "Porgy and Bess." Gershwin died in 1937, with Brown still in the role of Bess.
"Anne Brown was a pioneer for blacks in the opera," said Nina Krohn, a music critic for Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.
She was born on Aug. 9, 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Harry F. Brown, was a prosperous doctor and grandson of a slave and her mother, Mary Wiggins Brown, was a music lover of native American, African and European descent.
Brown started to sing when she was six, encouraged by her mother, who sang in their church choir, according to biographies. However, Brown was rejected by a Baltimore Catholic school and by her hometown music conservatory because they did not accept black students at the time.
She then studied at traditionally black Morgan College in Baltimore, now called Morgan State University.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Classical Music Ping
The fat lady has sung ping!
Bess you is my woman.... classic song and show. Her Summertime is still soul wrenching.
I loves you Porgy....
RIP.
10-minute video includes a recent interview, a 1996 reunion with Todd Duncan, and archival footage of Anne singing “Summertime.”
Madame Brown was a beautiful woman, both in face and soul. And, wow.....could she hit those high notes. It was electrifying.
A rare glimpse into America's musical past......glorious, but often past imperfect at the same time.
Leni
Very, very cool. Thanks for finding it and congrats to that filmmaker for that look into American musical history.
Ah yes ... I still hear it .... What a magnificent voice to add to the choir
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