Marian Anderson, 1950

[@jens-christiangottschalk6672]

I admire her beauty and the truthfulness in her singing. What a fantastic women!

[@orlandomoore4325]

I can't stop crying - listening to this portion of her life story just tears me apart. What a wonderful voice. How indebted the the glorious and fabulous black female opera singers who followed her (Ms.Price, Ms. Norman, Ms. Allen, Ms. Battle, Ms. Verrett, Mr. Bumbry and so on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@theon9575]

Orlando Moore Yes indeed. I'm so old that I'm lucky enough to have heard live all of the ladies you list (Ms G. Bumbry, it was ;)), but none of those fine star singers ever caused me to shed a tear at the sheer beauty of their voice as Marion Anderson does here within 3:30minutes. And none of them had almost perfect technique, legato and breath control as Anderson shows here, well trained in Germany at that time. Another important black pioneer, but then post WW2 and overlooked nowadays, was Matiwilda Dobbs, coloratura soprano (check You Tube). Verrett, Bumbry etc came really a decade later in the '60s+.

[@jjlungdoc7472]

Thank you for mentioning Ms Allen ( Betty) a very underestimated artist. Except for Ms Anderson I was privileged to experience live these ladies great artistry.

[@conradsmithlacsina4166]

A lovely dignified lady with a lovely emancipating voice. A lovely documentary too. Thank you for sharing.

[@lucisventusnoctis]

i've had really bad backpain and GI related pain for years now - the magic and warmth of marian anderson's voice is sometimes the only thing that soothes the hurt

[@arxsyn]

Her voice has a sweet, creamy richness to it. Just lovely.

[@ChrisAmericaUSA]

Yesterday in Lubbock, TX someone left a biography of Marian's life....it is delightful to say the least and very moving. She was no doubt gifted by God....so elegant, classy and austere....the simplicity of her stage presence spoke volumes and added texture to her voice.....she indeed was an American original

[@54blueroses]

Her voice is heavenly 💕

[@baritonebynight]

I have many of her recordings, but seeing and hearing her do a messa di voce was amazing.

[@bigjoetube]

The voice of the century.

[@arlenehensley6753]

One of the great singers of our time!

[@MSnormanify]

Her singing was so beautiful that at times she gave me goose pimples

[@brandondrakeford7802]

hi my name is alaina and i'm you

[@pilouetmissiou]

very beautifull i discover today this wonderfull artist so sensible whose voice is wonderfull ...thank you for sharing...

[@Ebbyandme151]

what a great example you see i'm doing a biography on her for school and i'm done with it thanks to this video it gave me many details

[@pekkaT13]

Qué dulce voz ... Dios mio.

[@evgenylauck4893]

Великая певица!

[@wazonu]

Thank you.

[@MANUELFARINELLI]

God bless you Marian, so talented as a singer and as a woman!

[@MrFalconford]

thank you for sharing your journey m a

[@Rephrat]

the pianist is Frans Rupp !! also known as Fritz kreisler and Emanuel Feuermann pianst !!

[@alanhudson2999]

My Lord she sounds jus like a beautiful songbird starting @3:42 holding that key such a beautiful vibrato

[@amuraim]

The open air concert took place because the DAR refused to have her sing in a mixed auditorium

[@zimnochmusic]

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@FUICA1]

Chills!

[@imsixftsix]

Lovely documentary, but it ends so suddenly!

[@MuscleMikal]

She was always beautifully gowned; much more so than her Caucasian contemporaries.

[@chick97]

my fathers name is Hurok; named for Sol Hurok.....

[@kassova1]

Excellent contralto with outstanding vocal technique. Only technicality is the diction is very difficult to understand. Possibly then language pronunciation, diction, was not focused on, and voice was more payed attention to. But her intonation was fantastic, nonetheless. Wish I would have been able to see her performance in person, but unfortunately this was before my time.

[@marioriospinot]

Nice.

[@Ebbyandme151]

me too at school i had to dress up as her for a book report she was leaning against the piano because she broke her ankle on a boat while coming back to america from Europe!

[@cathieobrien]

wow.

[@diegofacha5650]

What is the name the piece that she sings in the beginning?

[@elrjames7799]

'The Lady from Philadelphia'.

[@Ebbyandme151]

i thing she sang o mio fernando

[@mindspring57]

@amuraim In the 1930's, and continuing until after the Second World War, Washington, D.C., was a segregated city. The DAR adopted a "white performers" only rule, because having black performers tended to draw black people to the performances, and having a racially-mixed audience offended the laws, customs, and mores of the Southern people at that time. While Eleanor Roosevelt was morally correct, her position was somewhat naive.

[@jsbrules]

I love Marian Anderson! But isn't she quite flat in the first selection, starting with the first note?

[@liedersanger1]

Yes.

[@mikesummers-smith4091]

Marian Anderson wasn't a contralto. She was a soprano with a low voice. (Adapted from a comment about Caruso.)

[@timothysprengeler4071]

Although Ms. Anderson is usually considered a contralto and sang primarily in that range, she actually possessed a very impressive vocal range. Her famous rendition of Schubert's "Ave Maria" is in mezzo-soprano range.

[@Dadacomero]

how can someone believe she was a contralto?...