Anne Brown
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Anne Brown (August 9, 1912March 13, 2009) was an American
lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...
for whom
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 â€“ July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
rewrote the part of "Bess" into a leading role in the original production of his opera ''
Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...
'' in 1935. She was also a radio and concert singer. She settled in Norway in 1948 and later became a Norwegian citizen.


Early life and career (1912–1936)

A native of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, Annie Wiggins Brown was the daughter of Dr. Harry F. Brown, a physician, and his wife, the former Mary Allen Wiggins. Her father was the grandson of a slave and her mother's parents were of black, Cherokee Indian, and Scottish-Irish origins. She had three sisters, Henrietta, Mamie, and Harriet. As an African-American, she was not allowed to attend a Roman Catholic elementary school in her native Baltimore. She trained at Morgan College and then applied to the
Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...
, but was rejected from the school due to her race. Brown then applied to the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
at the encouragement of the wife of the owner of ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
''. She was admitted to
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...
when she was 16, becoming the first African-American vocalist to attend there. She studied singing with Lucia Dunham and was awarded Juilliard's Margaret McGill scholarship when she was 20 years old. At the age of nineteen she married a fellow Juilliard student, but the marriage soon ended in divorce.''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'' (Carlson Publishing, 1993). In 1933, she was a second-year graduate student at
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...
. She learned that
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 â€“ July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
was going to compose an opera about African Americans in South Carolina. She decided to write him a letter, which led to Gershwin's secretary calling her to come and sing for him. After singing several classical arias and the spiritual "A City Called Heaven" for Gershwin, Brown was frequently invited by the composer to come down and sing parts of the opera for him as he was composing the work's music. As a result, the role of Bess grew from a secondary character, like it was in
DuBose Heyward Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1925 novel '' Porgy''. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer Georg ...
's novel '' Porgy'', to one of the opera's leading roles. Brown recalled that:
ershwinwould telephone and say, 'I've finished up to page 33 or so. Come down; I want you to sing it. When can you come down?' 'When I get out of school today,' I would say. I'd always start off singing "Summertime". I loved it so. Then I would sing whatever he had written since the last time I'd been there, whatever the roles might be – sometimes I even sang Sportin' Life, sometimes we sang duets together. I knew that opera before I went onstage, not only the songs. I wound up playing about 500 performances in the original and then the 1942 revival. I can tell you what every instrument played. Finally, in our last days of rehearsals in New York before heading up to Boston for previews, George took me to lunch. 'Come on,' he said, 'I'm going to buy you an orange juice.' Then, when we were seated, he made this announcement. I remember his words exactly because they thrilled me so. 'I want you to know, Miss Brown,' he said, 'that henceforth and forever after, George Gershwin's opera will be known as ''Porgy and Bess''.
Brown took part of opera history when she sang Bess for the world premiere of ''Porgy and Bess'' at the Colonial Theatre in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
on September 30, 1935 – the try-out for a work intended initially for Broadway where the opening took place at the Alvin Theater in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on October 10, 1935. The production was directed by
Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian (October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an Armenian-American film and theater director. Mamoulian's oeuvre includes sixteen films (four of which are Musical film, musicals) and seventeen Broadway theatre, Broadw ...
and ran on Broadway for 124 performances.
Olin Downes Edwin Olin Downes, better known as Olin Downes (January 27, 1886 – August 22, 1955), was an American music critic, known as "Sibelius's Apostle" for his championship of the music of Jean Sibelius. As critic of ''The New York Times'', he ex ...
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised Brown's performance as "a high point of interpretation." Critical responses to the work were mixed; some reviewers were uncertain as to whether or not ''Porgy'' was a folk opera, musical comedy, jazz drama, or something completely different. Others expressed concerns over the use of "negro stereotypes". Brown said, "My father was very displeased. He thought that those were the old cliches of black people – dope peddlers, near-prostitutes; he especially didn't like his daughter showing her legs and all that. I thought that DuBose Heyward and Gershwin had simply taken a part of life in Catfish Row, South Carolina, and rendered it superbly." Following the show's run on Broadway, a United States tour started on January 27, 1936, in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and traveled to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
before ending in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, on March 21, 1936. During the Washington run, the cast—as led by Todd Duncan— protested segregation at the theater. Brown said of her role in the protest, ''"I told them: 'I will not sing at the National. If my mother, my father, my friends, if black people cannot come hear me sing, then count me out.' I remember Gershwin saying to me, 'You're not going to sing?' And I said to him, 'I can't sing!'"'' Eventually management gave in to the demands, resulting in the first integrated audience for a performance of any show at the National Theatre. When the curtain came down on the final performance of ''Porgy and Bess,'' segregation was reinstated.


Later life and career: 1937–2009

After her appearance as the first Bess, Brown returned to Broadway in the 1937 musical revue ''
Pins and Needles Paresthesia is a sensation of the skin that may feel like numbness (''hypoesthesia''), tingling, pricking, chilling, or burning. It can be temporary or chronic and has many possible underlying causes. Paresthesia is usually painless and can oc ...
''. This was later followed by an appearance in the 1939 Broadway play '' Mamba's Daughters'' in the roles of Gardenia and the "Lonesome Walls" Singer. Brown sang Bess in several revivals of ''Porgy and Bess'' during this time, including the 1942 Broadway revival. She also sang Bess for the
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
album '' Selections from George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess'' and sang some of Bess's music in an appearance in the 1945 Gershwin biography film ''
Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...
''. Brown toured Europe as a concert artist from 1942 to 1948. Brown said that she left the United States because of continued racial prejudice. As she told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in 1998, "We tough girls tough it out. I've lived a strange kind of life—half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight. Many things that I wanted as a young person for my career were denied to me because of my color". She also noted, regarding her light complexion, "Though there is no place on earth without prejudice. In fact, a French journalist wrote an article during one of my tours there asking: 'Why does she say she is colored? She's as white as any singer. It's just a trick to get people interested.' Can you imagine? Of course I was advertised as 'a Negro soprano.' What is 'a Negro soprano'?" She also stated that she felt her singing was better received in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
because she mainly sang works by European composers, such as
Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...
,
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
,
Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
, and
Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
. In 1948, Brown settled in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway and became a Norwegian citizen after marrying skier Thorleif Schjelderup, a medalist at the 1948 Winter Olympics. He was her third husband, and like her previous marriages, their union ended in divorce. The marriage to Schjelderup was her third, his second. She had married for the first time at 19, eloping with a medical student, F. H. Howard, in New York and keeping the marriage secret from her father for two years; the union ended two years after that. Her second marriage in 1938 to C. C. Pettit produced her daughter, Paula, who was born in 1939. She had a second daughter, Vaar Inga, born in 1951 (the name means "springtime" in Norwegian), with Schjelderup, who also adopted Paula. Paula Schjelderup rarely saw her father, because of her parents’ poor relationship. Instead, Schjelderup considered Brown’s husband, Thorleif Schjelderup, to be her father figure. Brown continued working as a professional musician into the 1950s, mostly working as a concert singer and recitalist. She did. however, appear in a few more operas, like
Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...
's ''
The Medium ''The Medium'' is a short (one-hour-long) two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946, with Claramae Turner a ...
'' and '' The Telephone''. Her career as a singer was cut short due to problems with asthma; she no longer sang professionally after 1955. (She sang at the Teatro Colón in October 1955.) At this point, she embarked on a second career as a voice teacher. Among her students were actress
Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and filmmaker. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, whom she date ...
, soprano Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, ballad singer and former Minister of Culture
Ã…se Kleveland Ã…se Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 with the entry " Intet er nytt under solen". A well-known folk singer and traditiona ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
singer
Karin Krog Karin Krog (born 15 May 1937) is a Norwegian Vocal jazz, jazz singer. Life and career Krog began singing jazz as a teenager and attracted attention while performing in jam sessions in Oslo. In 1955, she was hired by the pianist Kjell Karlsen ...
, and opera singer Trond Halstein Moe. On October 9, 1980, Brown was interviewed for an article written by James A. Standifier called, "Reminiscences of Black Musicians". Brown also staged several operas in France and Norway. Brown was a guest of honor at the gala opening of the
Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House () is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera house in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by S ...
on April 12, 2008. She resided in Oslo up until her death in 2009 at age ninety-six. Her interment was at VÃ¥r Frelsers gravlund. It is not clear if she maintained her United States citizenship as well. Her papers and personal artifacts are housed in the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
.


Awards

In 1998, Anne Brown received the
George Peabody Medal The George Peabody Medal, named in honor of George Peabody, is the highest honor bestowed by the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. The award was stablished in 1980, being presented annually to honor individuals who have made exception ...
for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America from the Peabody Institute, the institution that had denied her music education 70 years earlier. She was also made an honorary citizen of Baltimore in 1999. In 2000, she was awarded Norway's Council of Cultures Honorary Award.


Sources

* ''The Music of Black Americans: A History''. Eileen Southern. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition. *Jablonski, Edward and Lawrence D. Stewart. ''The Gershwin Years''. Garden City, New Jersey: Doubleday & Company, 1973. Second edition. * Anne Brown, "I Gave Up My Country For Love", ''
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
'', November 1953 * Anne Brown Interview, "Reminiscences of Black Musicians", ''American Music'', Summer 1986 * Anne Brown, ''Sang fra frassen gren'' (memoir, aka ''Songs From a Frozen Branch''), Aschehoug, Oslo, 1979


References


External links

* *
Anne Brown – A Spotlight on the Soprano who Debuted Gershwin’s Bess
from th
Schubert Club
(includes clips of her performances) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Anne 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women opera singers African-American women opera singers American emigrants to Norway George Peabody Medal winners Morgan State University alumni Naturalised citizens of Norway American operatic sopranos Norwegian operatic sopranos Musicians from Baltimore Singers from Maryland Musicians from Oslo Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour 20th-century Norwegian women opera singers 21st-century American women