Who Built the Legacy
For more than fifty years, Opera Ebony has been sustained by the extraordinary artists who have graced its stages, lent their voices to its mission, and believed in its singular vision before the world caught up. From the earliest productions that dared to center Black excellence in the operatic canon, to the celebrated collaborations with artists of international stature, Opera Ebony’s legacy is not housed in any single archive or trophy — it lives in the artistry of the hundreds of singers, conductors, composers, directors, and musicians who have answered the call. Each performance was an act of cultural affirmation, and each artist who gave of their gifts helped forge an institution that no other organization in the world can claim to replicate.
Among those who have shaped this legacy are many and in honor of those contributions we lift their names. To every artist who has stood on an Opera Ebony stage, or worked behind the scenes to make that stage possible — your contribution is woven permanently into the fabric of American opera history, and into the story of the oldest continuously operating Black opera company in the world.
The Talent…
CONDUCTOR | Everett Lee, Kevin Scott, Willie Anthony Waters. DIRECTOR | Hope Clark (and Choreographer), Frank Gentalesca, Ward Fleming, Duane Jones, Barbara Montgomery, Daniel Swift. PIANIST | Daniel Sneed. SOPRANO | Venessa Ayers, Priscilla Baskeville, Nicole Borrows, Michelle Bradley, Angela Brown, Alfa Floyd, Rebecca Hargrove, Camila Johnson, Manna K. Jones, Marvis Martin, Leona Mitchell, Karen Park, Renee Peters-Jobert, Larose Saxon, Sharon Simms, Lorene Spain, Angela Starks, Mary Winston-Smith. MEZZO-SOPRANO | Patricia Eaton, Elvira Green, Hilda Harris, Santita Jackson, Barbara Mahojen, Carolyn Sebron. TENOR | Derrick Alton, Eldric Bashful, William Brown, Luiz-Ottavio Faria, Samuel McKelton, Chauncey Parker, Jerod Sanders, Rocky Sellers, Caesar Antonio Suarez, Victor Velazquez, Edward Washington II. BARITONE | Donnie Ray Albert, Cedric Cannon, Lawrence Craig, Andre Solomon Glover, Darryl Jordan, Marvin Lowe, Gregory Sheppard, Anthony Turner, Arthur Woodley. BASS | James Butler.
Composer/Librettist | Noa Ain, Valerie Capers, Carlos Gomes, Lena McLin, Dorothy Rudd Moore, William Grant Still, Virgil Thomson,Wayne Sanders, Pamela Watson.
This is a partial list made from known affiliation and/or current research. If you know of other names not listed, and yes they are many, we want to hear from you — please click “Roster Update” below.
Historical Timeline
