Around the Music Festival

American soprano Martina Arroyo passed away on October 13 at her home in Manhattan. She was 90 years old. As one of the “first generation” of Black artists to establish a firm standing at major opera houses—including the Metropolitan Opera in New York—she enjoyed a prominent international career from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Born in Harlem, New York, she was raised in a family with a Puerto Rican father and an African American mother. Growing up, she was immersed in the arts—taking lessons in ballet and piano, and singing in a church choir. Alongside her vocal studies, she pursued an education at Hunter College and later at the graduate level at New York University.

After graduation, she taught Italian at a public school in the Bronx and worked as a caseworker for the city’s Department of Welfare, all the while continuing her vocal training.

In 1958, she succeeded in the Metropolitan Opera’s “Opera Auditions of the Air,” which led to more intensive professional study; she subsequently made her debut as a singer in the American premiere of Ildebrando Pizzetti’s opera *Murder in the Cathedral* (*Assassinio nella cattedrale*), held at Carnegie Hall.

The following year, 1959, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as the “Celestial Voice” in Verdi’s *Don Carlo*. Subsequently, she moved to Europe, where she performed in opera houses across the continent and gained recognition for her dramatic singing and acting. In 1965, she stepped in for an indisposed Birgit Nilsson to sing the title role in Verdi’s *Aida*; the performance was a resounding success, establishing her reputation overnight.

At the Metropolitan Opera, she subsequently made 200 appearances over the course of 20 seasons. In addition to the title role in *Aida*, her repertoire included roles such as Donna Anna, Cio-Cio-San (*Madama Butterfly*), Liù, Santuzza, La Gioconda, and Elsa.

In the early 1970s, she sang the lead role in the season-opening production on three separate occasions. She also made a series of debuts at other prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera in London (1968), La Scala in Milan (1972), and the Paris National Opera.

Meanwhile, she held numerous masterclasses both in Japan and abroad and served as a juror for various competitions, including the International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 1993, she was appointed a distinguished professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she taught opera until 2007. Furthermore, in 2003, she established a foundation to support the careers of young singers.

Known for an unpretentious, cheerful, and down-to-earth personality, she made numerous television appearances and worked to dispel the perception of opera as a “stuffy and inaccessible” art form. She received many accolades, including the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors in 2010 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013.

PHOTO：Metropolitan Opera　/　Louis Mélançon