Robert McFerrin
Born 1921, Marianna, Arkansas
Died 2006, St. Louis, Missouri
While his son, Grammy-winning vocalist Bobby McFerrin, might be better known, Robert McFerrin enjoyed a groundbreaking career in opera. In 1955, he became the first African-American man to sing a lead role at The Metropolitan Opera.
McFerrin’s voice was that of a dramatic baritone, also referred to as a “Verdi baritone.” His timbre was dark, his range generous, his registers equalized, and his top ringing, with plenty of squillo.
In 1953, he won the Met’s Auditions of the Air, an annual singing competition to promote young opera artists, and received thirteen months of training at the company. The new Met general manager, Rudolf Bing, who was spearheading the cause of casting without racial prejudice, chose McFerrin to portray Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida in January 1955. That was in the same month as the debut of Marian Anderson. In the following year, McFerrin became the first African-American to sing a title role, the tragic court jester Rigoletto.
McFerrin sang three years at the Met but was given only three roles: in addition to Amonasro, he sang one Valentin and two Rigolettos. He resigned from the Met in 1958 saying, “Opportunities … were at a stalemate… I did not want to continue the uncertainty of my future of whether or not I would progress beyond the status of singing the role of a brother, or father… I wanted to sing Wotan or Count di Luna, or a romantic lead. I guess this would have created too much controversy…”
McFerrin headed to Hollywood, where he provided the singing voice for Sidney Poitier’s Porgy in Otto Preminger’s film Porgy and Bess (1959). After that, he turned to teaching, which became his career for the rest of his working life. The world’s opera houses were not to hear his wonderful voice again.