Singer Marian Anderson (center) signs a contract with Metropolitan Opera representative Rudolf Bing (right). She was the first black performer to sing leading roles for the Met. Her manager, Sol Hurok (left), looks on, 1954. Courtesy: CSU Archives/Everett Collection
Austrian born Sir Rudolf Bing (opera impresario) served as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera from 1950-1972. He guided the Met’s move to a new home in Lincoln Center. Other significant achievements of Bing’s tenure included the opening of the Met’s artistic roster to singers of color such as Reri Grist, Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett, Martina Arroyo, George Shirley, Robert McFerrin, and others.
On January 7, 1955, Mirian Anderson became the first African American to perform at the Met, America’s most highly esteemed opera house. Anderson sang the role of a fortuneteller in an opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, called Un Ballo in Maschera (“A Masked Ball”). See: https://www.metopera.org/discover/archives/notes-from-the-archives/january/
