1960s Timeline

Latest Podcasts

Mar 15, 2023

American Opera Soprano Murdered in Rome

Mar. 15, 1963 - A glamorous American opera soprano clad in a scarlet nightgown was found shot dead today in her room in a fashionable...

Jan 28, 2023

Leontyne Price Performs for Integrated Audience in Mississippi Hometown

Jan. 28, 1963 - Leontyne Price (pictured) sang before an applauding integrated audience in her Mississippi hometown last night to raise...

Jun 13, 2022

Former Opera Diva Performs in Hospital

June 13, 1962 - Mary Garden (pictured in 1911), once hailed as the “Queen of American Opera,” has given her first performance since the...

Mar 22, 2022

Contralto Marian Anderson Meets President, Performs for Washington Officials

Mar. 22, 1962 - Marian Anderson, the contralto, exchanged mementos with President Kennedy today. Their meeting preceded a concert she...

Feb 20, 2022

Grace Bumbry, Negro Mezzo-Soprano, Performs at White House

Feb. 20, 1962 — Grace Bumbry, mezzo-soprano, sang at the White House tonight after a state dinner at which she scarcely ate a bite. The...

Oct 13, 2021

Young Diva Inspires Americans with Advertisement

Oct. 13, 1961 - Rosalind Elias, the Metropolitan Opera Company’s young mezzo-soprano who published an ad in The New York Times last...

Jul 25, 2021

Negro Opera Singer Hailed in Bayreuth after Wagner Performance

July 25, 1961 - Grace Bumbry, American Negro singer, was hailed today in Bayreuth for her performance as Venus in Wagner's "Tannhäuser"...

Jul 22, 2021

Some Germans Protest Grace Bumbry, Negro Opera Singer, in Wagner's "Tannhäuser"

July 22, 1961 - Richard Wagner's grandson today angrily rejected protests against the choice of Grace Bumbry (pictured), a Negro...