Caterina Jarboro (July 24, 1898 – August 13, 1986) was an American

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 libr ...

singer. She was the first female black opera singer to sing with a major company, twenty-two years before

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...

's début at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

Biography

Jarboro was born in 1898 as Katherine (Katie) Lee Yarborough in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

. Her father John was

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

and her mother Annie was Native-American. She had at least four siblings and was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(baptized at St Thomas Church in her hometown). Jarboro studied in North Carolina and then in New York. She sang in the theater musical ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Americ ...

'' and in

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

's ''Running Wild''. In 1930 she debuted in opera with

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Aida ''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 Decemb ...

'' at the Puccini Theatre in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. In 1933, twenty-two years before

's début at the

, impresario

Alfredo Salmaggi Alfredo Salmaggi (March 4, 1886 – September 9, 1975), was an operatic impresario who staged bargain priced productions. He was born in L'Aquila, Italy. He married Elvira Canzano (?-1963). One of his sons was Felix W. Salmaggi who managed the ...

hired Jarboro to sing with his opera company at the New York Hippodrome. She was presented in the title role of

's ''

''. Later she appeared with the company as Sélika in

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 d ...

's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French ''grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', bu ...

''. She was the first female black opera singer ever to perform a leading role with an otherwise all-white company in America (baritone

Jules Bledsoe Julius Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe (1898 – July 14, 1943)
by John Troesser. Retrieved ...

had sung

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 Decembe ...

with the Cleveland Stadium Opera in 1932).Shirley, George (2012). "Il Rodolfo Nero, or the Masque of Blackness" , p. 263. In ''Blackness in Opera'', edited by Naomi André, Karen M. Bryan, and Eric Saylor, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield. . This milestone earned Salmaggi special recognition from First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

. Many other opera appearances throughout Europe followed. She returned to the United States in 1941. Among her performances were a recitals at the Town Hall in 1942 and Carnegie Hall in 1944. The New York Metropolitan Opera Association invited her to become a member, but when they realized she was not Italian, but Afro-Indian, they denied her membership. After a lengthy and successful career she declined membership when a second invitation was extended. She retired in 1955. Jarboro died on August 13, 1986 in Manhattan. She is believed to have been 88 years old. Her siblings alive at her time of death were Joseph Yarborough of Philadelphia, and Anna Gayle of

Palmetto, Florida Palmetto is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was listed as 13,323. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Palmetto ha ...

Biography

References

Further reading