As a music lover — especially if you’re an opera fan — you deserve to know the name Sissieretta Jones. The American soprano’s full name was Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (January 5, 1868 or 1869 – June 24, 1933), and she was an amazing talent and a trailblazer! Sissieretta Jones was the first African-American woman to headline a concert on Carnegie Hall’s Main Stage, where she performed four times between 1892 and 1896. Born in Portsmouth, VA, Ms. Jones moved as a child with her family to Rhode Island. Despite her extraordinary talent, she was denied opportunities to sing with major opera companies. Nevertheless she persisted, and forged an artistically satisfying and financially lucrative three-decade career. As a young singer in 1893, she met composer Antonin Dvorak, who invited her to perform a concert he was organizing at Madison Square Garden. Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones was a force to be reckoned with, and you owe it to yourself to learn more about her. Below are a few links to get you started.
Sadly, I could not find any recordings of Ms. Jones to share with you. However, the legendary opera star Jessye Norman collaborated with soprano Harolyn Blackwell on a documentary about her, and you can listen to Jessye Norman perform one of Sissieretta Jones’ signature compositions: Charles Gounod’s setting of AVE MARIA based on a prelude from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier. Beautiful Music sung by one extraordinary woman in tribute to another.
Jessye Norman – Ave Maria (Gounod/Bach) on Vimeo
Sissieretta Jones: Call Her By Her Name! (wokeupfamousllc.com)
A Stage for Women’s Suffrage | Carnegie Hall
Rhode Island’s Sissieretta Jones: The Barrier-Busting Opera Diva – New England Historical Society\