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BLACK OPERA SINGER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR, ANDREW FRIERSON MEMORIAL SERVICE PLAN FOR MARCH 2019
New York, NY -- Andrew Frierson, part of the first generation of Black
opera singers to be heard on the national stage, died of natural causes
December 6, 2018, at his home in Oberlin, Ohio. He was 94. This month,
there was a private service held at Trinity Church Cemetery and
Mausoleum in Manhattan. Frierson's memorial service will be held in New
York City in March 2019.
An imposing figure with a commanding baritone, Frierson lived by a strict code of honor and integrity about his work and helped blaze a trail for African American classical singers as a member of the New York City Opera Company for six seasons, where he was most notably conducted by Leopold Stokowski in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, and recorded the role of Cal in Mark Blitzstein's Regina for Sony. In the 1960's, he broke the color line on national television, singing "Old Man River" live on The Ed Sullivan Show, and later co-founded the Independent Black Opera Singers organization to champion opportunities for black male opera singers.
Reviewing Mr. Frierson's 1949 debut, Ross Parmenter of the New York Times wrote that Mr. Frierson, who was still at Juilliard at the time, "Gives promise of being a fine concert artist," adding, "He already has the essential attributes - a beautiful voice, good technique, musicianship, sympathy and a fine presence."
