Roland Hayes, tenor
(Wikipedia Commons/Maud Cuney-Hare)
Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor
Christopher A. Brooks and Robert Sims
Indiana University Press
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Brian Wise / Terrance McKnight WQXR Host
The accomplishments of Roland Hayes, the first world-renowned
African-American classical singer, have been overshadowed by some of
those who followed him. But a new biography, called Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor (Indiana University Press), may bring fresh attention to his career.
Born on June 3, 1887 in rural Georgia to a former slave, Hayes is
believed to be the first black classical musician to make a commercial
recording. At his peak in the 1920s, he was the world's highest-paid
singer, reportedly making around $100,000 annually.
He sang for the crowned heads of Europe and in prestigious concert
halls around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall in London
and Symphony Hall in Boston.
Hayes was the first black person to sing with a major orchestra – the
Boston Symphony – and the first to sing a command performance for the
British Royal Family.
Baritone Robert Sims,
a co-author of the new biography, tells host Terrance McKnight that
Hayes was a trailblazer for black classical musicians like Marian
Anderson, Paul Robeson and Leontyne Price.
"What he accomplished in the early 1900s – the 1920s were the height
of his celebrity – no one else was able to do," Sims said. "Through
sheer determination, self-belief and drive…He was determined to have
this career and he had it."
But even when Hayes became a successful artist, he faced the same
prejudices as most African Americans at the time. During his tour of
Germany in 1923, he encountered hostile audiences, including one at a
recital in Berlin who mocked him for 10 minutes before he was able to
sing. He eventually won them over with his nuanced singing of a Schubert
song.
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