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La Julia Rhea
La Julia Rhea (March 16, 1898 – July 5, 1992) was an American operatic soprano. Biography Early life and career Rhea was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and began singing publicly at the Hill Street Baptist Church of that city, where she was a member of the children's choir. In 1925 she went to Chicago and became a member of the R. Nathaniel Dett Club of Music and Allied Arts and attended and graduated from Chicago Musical College. Her professional debut was at Chicago's Kimball Hall in 1929, and she continued to make regular concert performances across the United States as she studied operatic roles in a period that lasted more than two decades. Notable appearances After a 1927 performance of "O Don Fatale" from Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' for the Dett Club Scholarship Fund at Pittsburgh's Grace Presbyterian Church , the columnist Sylvester Russell had this to say, "As a vocalist... Madam Rhea is a genuine contralto of wonderful range and power, hardly exc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Negro Opera Company
The National Negro Opera Company (1941–1962) was the first African-American opera company in the United States. Organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Mary Cardwell Dawson, the company was launched with a performance at the local Syria Mosque. The star was La Julia Rhea, and other members included Minto Cato, Carol Brice, Robert McFerrin, and Lillian Evanti. During its 21-year run, NNOC also mounted productions in Washington D.C., New York City, and Chicago. The company disbanded in 1962 upon Dawson's death. Although the company toured nationally, its offices and studios were housed in a three-story Queen Anne-style house at 7101 Apple Street in Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood. Constructed as a private residence, it was purchased by William A. "Woogie" Harris (brother of the photographer Charles "Teenie" Harris) in the 1930s. The NNOC moved to Washington, D.C. in 1942, but the company continued to use the third floor as a local guild office and studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amonasro
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, ''Aida'' has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Elements of the opera's genesis and sources Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, but Verdi declined. However, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to Khedive Pasha a plot for a celebrato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
