Jones, Sissieretta (Matilda Sissieretta Joyner)
1868-1933 · Contribution: 1888-1915
Pioneering soprano celebrated as the first Black operatic prima donna; in 1892 she became the first African American to headline a concert on the main stage of Carnegie Hall, opening doors for Black classical singers decades before the opera stage was integrated.
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Impact on the world
The leading Black concert soprano of her generation, Jones became the first African American to headline Carnegie Hall in 1892 and performed at the White House for President Benjamin Harrison—and, by many accounts, for three other presidents—as well as before European royalty. Barred by racism from performing in staged opera alongside white companies, she nonetheless sang operatic arias in concert and toured internationally, while promoters marketed her as 'the Black Patti,' after Italian diva Adelina Patti, a label she disliked. For nearly two decades she headlined her own touring company, the Black Patti Troubadours, helping open the way for later Black opera singers such as Caterina Jarboro, Marian Anderson, and Leontyne Price.
Life & background
Born Matilda Sissieretta Joyner on January 5, 1868 (some sources cite 1869) in Portsmouth, Virginia, the daughter of a formerly enslaved minister, she moved with her family to Providence, Rhode Island, as a child and sang in her father's church choir before studying at the Providence Academy of Music and in Boston. Following her New York debut in 1888 she won international acclaim touring the United States, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe, sang before thousands at Madison Square Garden, and in 1892 became the first Black artist to headline a concert at Carnegie Hall. Denied access to opera houses because of her race, she led the Black Patti Troubadours from 1896 until about 1915, then retired to Providence to care for her mother; despite years of high earnings, she died in relative poverty of cancer on June 24, 1933.
Sources
- PBS (American Masters); BlackPast.org; Harvard University Press (Dreaming in Ensemble)
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