Let It Shine – for Marian and Leontyne
Categories: In the News , Entertainment , Local Interest , African American
Few stories of African American triumphs in the arts are as moving as that of Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson, considered by many the greatest contralto of her time, was barred from using Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the facility. In the widespread protest that followed, Eleanor Roosevelt and other prominent members resigned from the DAR, and Anderson performed instead at the memorial on Easter Sunday. A crowd of 75,000 attended the historic event.
Anderson, who died in 1993, went on to other trailblazing achievements, notably her 1955 debut as the first African American member of the Metropolitan Opera. Her successor in breaking barriers was the magnificent soprano Leontyne Price, the first African American to achieve an international reputation in opera and one of the finest of divas by any measure.
This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price celebrates these two artists through the talents of soprano Adrienne Danrich. The Cincinnati Opera will present performances tonight at Memorial Hall and tomorrow night in the Harriet Tubman Theater of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, both at 7 p.m. Touring programs are also available through February 23.
The Cincinnati Opera commissioned Danrich, a rising star in the opera world, to write and perform the “multimedia” show, which features stories, photos, quotations, and recordings. You can listen to Danrich discuss the development of This Little Light of Mine on the WVXU-FM program Around Cincinnati.
Here’s a sampling of Anderson and Price recordings and biographies at the Library.
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson: A Singer's Journey by Allan Keiler
My Lord, What a Morning: An Autobiography by Marian Anderson
Spirituals (CD)
Marian Anderson Sings Handel, Bach, Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Spirituals (2 CDs)
Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna by Hugh Lee Lyon
Leontyne Price, Opera Superstar by Richard Steins (children’s book)
Leontyne Price Sings Strauss Arias (CD)
The Essential Leontyne Price (11 CDs, songs include “This Little Light o’ Mine”)
The Prima Donna Collection (4 CDs)
