American tenor George Shirley crafted an international career in the world’s great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, the Royal Opera – Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper, Téatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Netherlands Opera, L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, Scottish Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, and Santa Fe Opera, to name only a few! A talented AND trailblazing artist, according to his biography as an Emeritus Professor of Music at University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, “Professor Shirley was the first African-American to be appointed to a high school teaching post in music in Detroit, the first African-American member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for eleven years.” Today’s Beautiful Music features the enduringly talented George Shirley singing VERGIN TUTTO AMOR by Francesco Durante — from a 2021 recording, when the singer was 87 years old! You can also use the link below to watch OPERA America’s interview with George Shirley from their Oral History project.