Ruby Pearl Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943) was an American
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
tic
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor.
Family and early life
Elzy was born in
Pontotoc, Mississippi, and educated at
Rust College, the
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
(graduating in 1930) and 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 ...
(graduating in 1934). At Juilliard she was a pupil of
Lucia Dunham. Her sister
Amanda Elzy (died 2004) was a prominent educator after whom
Amanda Elzy High School in
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the rive ...
is named.
Their mother Emma Elzy (died 1985, aged 98) was a teacher and prominent member of the Methodist church, in whose memory the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church presents an annual Emma K. Elzy award. Ruby had two sisters, Amanda and Beatrice Wayne and one brother, Robert. Their father Charlie abandoned the family when Ruby was five.
Professional accomplishments
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
's luncheon for the wives of
U.S. Supreme Court Justices. She appeared on
Broadway in the musical ''
John Henry'', in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
in the 1933 film ''
The Emperor Jones'', and also with
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
and
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...
in ''
Birth of the Blues'', though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
's
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
and in the
Hollywood Bowl.
Elzy created the role of Serena in
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – 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 ...
's folk 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), ...
'' and performed in it more than eight hundred times.
Serena sings the heart-wrenching soprano
aria
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
and lament "
My Man's Gone Now" after her husband Robbin is murdered during a game of
craps
Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...
. But fellow cast member and lead soprano
Anne Brown (who occupied the role of Bess) and not Elzy is actually heard singing the aria on the 1940 original cast album of selections from ''Porgy and Bess.'' Fortunately, Elzy sang the demanding aria on the 1937 CD release of the ''
Gershwin Memorial Concert'' that took place at the Hollywood Bowl three months after the composer's death .
Legacy
In 1940, she was chosen by composer
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...
to record the world premiere of his original suite of Negro spirituals, "Reverend Johnson's Dream", which would be her only commercial recording. During the same year Ruby married
Jack Carr, an actor/singer who appeared on stage with her in "Porgy and Bess". The marriage lasted until her death.
Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. Just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream—to star in the title role of
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
's ''
Aida''—and one week after her final performance as Serena, Ruby Elzy died in Detroit following surgery to remove a benign tumor. She was 35 years old.
In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled ''Ruby Elzy in Song,'' was released on the Cambria label.
Selected filmography
*''
The Emperor Jones'' (1933) as Dolly
*''
Birth of the Blues'' (1941)
References
* David E. Weaver, ''Black Diva of the Thirties: The Life of Ruby Elzy'', University Press of Mississippi, September 2004.
* "The Sweet Sound of Ruby Elzy", review of CD ''Ruby Elzy in Song'' by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic
Lloyd Schwartz on
NPR's ''
Fresh Air
''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...
,'
broadcast 28 June 2007:
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elzy, Ruby
1908 births
1943 deaths
People from Pontotoc, Mississippi
20th-century African-American women singers
20th-century American women opera singers
African-American women opera singers
American operatic sopranos
Singers from Mississippi
Ohio State University alumni
Rust College alumni
Juilliard School alumni
Deaths from cancer in Michigan
Classical musicians from Mississippi