Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. Music critic Alan Blyth said: "Her voice was a rich, vibrant contralto of intrinsic beauty." Most of her singing career was spent performing in concert and recital in major music venues and with famous orchestras throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. Although offered roles with many important European opera companies, Anderson declined, as she had no training in acting. She preferred to perform in concert and recital only. She did, however, perform opera arias within her concerts and recitals. She made many recordings that reflected her broad performance repertoire of everything from concert literature to lieder to opera to traditional American songs and spirituals. Between 1940 and 1965 the German-American pianist Franz Rupp was her permanent acompanist.Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused permission for Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. The incident placed Anderson into the spotlight of the international community on a level unusual for a classical musician. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. She sang before a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions. Anderson continued to break barriers for black artists in the United States, becoming the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 7, 1955. Her performance as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at the Met was the only time she sang an opera role on stage.Anderson worked for several years as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and as a "goodwill ambassadress" for the United States Department of State, giving concerts all over the world. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Anderson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.
Annie Delilah Rucker, John Berkley Anderson, My Lord, What a Morning, He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, Softly Awakes My Heart
Siblings
Ethel Anderson, Alice Anderson
Awards
Kennedy Center Honors, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Grammy Hall of Fame, NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award, My Lord, What a Morning, He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, Softly Awakes My Heart
Movies
Upbeat in Music
Star Sign
Pisces
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Quote
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I suppose I might insist on making issues of things. But that is not my nature, and I always bear in mind that my mission is to leave behind me the kind of impression that will make it easier for those who follow.
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Fact
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Encyclopedias and biographies made during her lifetime, incorrectly report her birth year as 1902. Although her family declared 1897 as the correct date in her obituary when she died in 1993, the 1902 notion still occasionally finds its way into print.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 19-22. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.
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She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1986 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
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Pictured on a USA 37¢ commemorative postage stamp in the Black Heritage series, issued 27 January 2005.
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In 1939, the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) refused to give Ms. Anderson permission to sing a concert at their headquarters. When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a member of the organization, heard of this, she resigned in protest, and Marian Anderson was finally allowed to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where she gave an electrifying performance of Schubert's "Ave Maria", among other arias and songs.
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Opera singer who also sang spirituals.
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Charter member of the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.
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Famous for her Lincoln Memorial concert in 1939.
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Michael Feinstein's American Songbook
2010
TV Mini-Series documentary performer - 1 episode
The Great Debaters
2007
performer: "Begrüssung"
Joulubileet
1996
performer: "Ave Maria"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Marian Anderson
1991
TV Movie
Herself
The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards
1991
TV Special
Herself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts