An African American contralto, Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia in 1899. She studied with Giuseppe Boghette and Frank La Forge. Anderson successfully performed throughout Europe before ecstatic audiences, yet, in 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused her permission to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
The following Easter Sunday, thanks in great part to the determination of Eleanor Roosevelt, Anderson sang before hundreds at the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1955 Anderson became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, singing as Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera. She received many honors, including the American Freedom Medal. During and after her lifetime, Anderson was admired for her artistic integrity.
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