Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (1809 – March 31, 1876), dubbed "The Black Swan" (a play on

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

's sobriquet, "The Swedish Nightingale), was an American singer considered the best-known black concert artist of her time. She was lauded by

James M. Trotter James Monroe Trotter (February 7, 1842 – February 26, 1892) was an American teacher, soldier, employee of the United States Post Office Department, a music historian, and Recorder of Deeds in Washington, D.C. Born into slavery in Mississippi, ...

for her "remarkably sweet tones and wide vocal compass".

Biography

Greenfield was born into slavery in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

somewhere between 1817 and 1826, to Anna Greenfield and a man whose name may have been "Taylor." According to an 1854 article in ''The Tri-Weekly Commercial'', "her mother was of Indian descent, her father an African."The Black Swan - Miss Greenfield, The Tri-Weekly Commercial (Wilmington, North Carolina), November 2, 1854, page 4, accessed September 8, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6551422// In the early 1820s, Greenfield's mistress, Elizabeth H. Greenfield, a former plantation owner who moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

after divorcing her second husband and emancipated her slaves. E.H. Greenfield worked with the American Emancipation Society to send 18 formerly enslaved residents of the Greenfield plantation, including Anna Greenfield and two of her daughters, to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

on August 2, 1831, aboard the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

Criterion. Greenfield remained in Philadelphia. She studied music as a child, although musical education was not generally provided by the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

with whom she associated. (While some sources state that E.H. Greenfield was herself a Quaker, others state only that she attended Quaker meetings "occasionally" and supported the Society of Friends financially.) In about 1851, Greenfield began to sing at private parties, debuting at the Buffalo Musical Association. From 1851 to 1853 she toured as managed by Colonel J. H. Wood, a

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

-style promoter and supporter of the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

, who would not allow black patrons into her concerts.Obituary - Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, The New York Times (New York, New York), April 2, 1876, page 2, accessed September 8, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6551441// In 1853, Greenfield debuted at Metropolitan Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which held an audience of 4,000—white patrons only. After the concert, Greenfield apologized to her own people for their exclusion from the performance and gave a concert to benefit the Home of Aged Colored Persons and the Colored Orphan Asylum. In April 1853, she went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

under the patronage of the

Duchess of Sutherland {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The Duchess of Sutherland is the wife of the Duke of Sutherland, an extant title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833. Duchesses of Sutherland * Elizab ...

and

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

. Greenfield was taught by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

organist, George Smart. She gave a command performance for the queen at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on May 10, 1854; she was the first African American performer to perform before British royalty.

wrote about Greenfield's appearance before the "elite" English society in "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands" In England, she also received patronage from the Duchess of Norfolk and the Duchess of Argyle. Best known for her performances of the music of

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...

, and

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

, she also performed sentimental American songs such as Henry Bishop's 1852 setting of

John Howard Payne John Howard Payne (June 9, 1791 – April 10, 1852) was an American actor, poet, playwright, and author who had nearly two decades of a theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of "Home! Sweet Home ...

's "

Home! Sweet Home! "Home, Sweet Home" is a song adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera ''Clari, or the Maid of Milan'', the song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop with lyrics by Payne. Bishop had earlier publ ...

" and

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...

's "

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Inde ...

".Lott, p. 235. Returning to the United States, she toured and conducted a

music studio. Among her voice pupils was Thomas Bowers, who became known as "The Colored Mario" and "The American Mario" for the similarity of his voice to Italian opera tenor

Giovanni Mario Giovanni Matteo De Candia, also known as Mario (17 October 1810 – 11 December 1883), was an Italian opera singer. The most celebrated tenor of his era, he was lionized by audiences in Paris and London. He was the partner of the opera singer Giul ...

. In the 1860s she created an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

troupe with Bowers which she directed.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p203 Greenfield died in

of paralysis on March 31, 1876. She was a member of the Philadelphia Shiloh Baptist Church.

References

External links

The Black Swan at Home and Abroad; A Biographical Sketch of Miss Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, The American Vocalist. @ Gutenberg.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenfield, Elizabeth 1824 births 1876 deaths 19th-century American slaves 19th-century African-American women singers 19th-century American women opera singers African-American women opera singers Musicians from Natchez, Mississippi Musicians from Philadelphia Singers from Mississippi Singers from Pennsylvania Classical musicians from Pennsylvania

Biography

References

Further reading

External links