My Lord, What a Morning

Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia. She studied with Giuseppe Boghette and Frank La Forge. An African American contralto, Anderson had successfully performed throughout Europe before ecstatic audiences, yet was refused permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., in 1939. The following Easter Sunday, she sang before hundreds at the Lincoln Memorial. In 1955 she 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. She is admired for her artistic integrity. 020