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Marian Anderson was an American contralto whose voice was described by Toscanini as one “heard once in a hundred years.” In 1939 when the Daughters of the American Revolution canceled her performance in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., she sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial instead, for an audience of over 75,000 people. She was the first black soloist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera (1955). Although she had already been performing for more than 20 years, her performance there helped to pave the way for other black artists. Anderson’s voice possessed a large volume and striking presence, and she was able to adapt it to a number of popular song styles as well. This excerpt is “Softly Awakes My Heart” (“Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix”) from Camille Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson et Dalila.
"Softly awakes my heart" from Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saens, from Great Singers 1909-1938 (Cat.# Nimbus NI 7801) (p)1989 Nimbus Records, Ltd. All rights reserved./Culver Pictures
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