Erwin Jaeckel News Today

Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germanys Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the worlds top stages, has died

A flamboyant mezzo-soprano (who could also sing meaty soprano roles), she overcame racial prejudice to become one of opera’s first, and biggest, Black stars.

NEW YORK (AP) — Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the world’s top stages, has died. She was 86. Bumbry died Sunday at Evangelisches Krankenhaus, a hospital in Vienna, according to her publicist, David Lee […]

Grace Bumbry was part of generation of acclaimed Black opera singers that included Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett, George Shirley, Reri Grist and Martina Arroyo.

Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germanys Bayreuth Festival, has died. She was 86.

Bumbry became the first Black singer to perform at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the world’s top stages.

Grace Bumbry, a pioneering Black mezzo-soprano opera singer had died at 86.

Grace Bumbry was the first Black singer to perform at Germany's Bayreuth festival and had a career spanning more than three decades.

The mezzo-soprano, who was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2009, performed at a state dinner in 1962. She also was the first Black performer at Germany's famed Bayreuth Festival.

The mezzo-soprano, who was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2009, performed at a state dinner in 1962. She also was the first Black performer at Germany's famed Bayreuth Festival.