Singer Marian Anderson Dies

PORTLAND - Marian Anderson, the brilliant contralto whose 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial was a singular moment in civil-rights history, died today.

Miss Anderson, 96, died in the home of her nephew, James DePreist, the Oregon Symphony's music director. She suffered a stroke last month.

Her artistry and quiet elegance endured despite the obstacles of racial prejudice. Through her tenacity and talent, she helped to dispel the myth that blacks could not excel in opera and classical music.

She was the first black to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the first black artist invited to entertain at the White House.

The haunting perfection of her voice was heard in concert halls around the world, her rich and soaring tones cradling spirituals and Shubert lieder, Verdi and Handel, the "Marseillaise" and "America."

"Yours is a voice such as one hears once in a hundred years," the conductor Arturo Toscanini once told her. "You are the greatest singer alive."

At age 19, Miss Anderson was accepted as a pupil by voice coach Giuseppe Boghetti. Four years later, she was chosen from 300 competing singers to appear with the New York Philharmonic in 1925. With financial support from fellowships, she studied in Europe in the late 1920s.

In 1933, a Berlin promoter arranged a concert for a $500 fee. Success was instantaneous and before returning home she performed across Europe and for the kings of Sweden and Denmark.

Perhaps her most victorious moment on stage came with her belated debut at the Metropolitan Opera on Jan. 7, 1955, in Verdi's "Masked Ball." Although her voice was no longer at its best, the audience cheered her so loudly that the orchestra came to a halt.

Miss Anderson continued singing for another decade, ending her career with a triumphant tour across four continents.