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National Negro Opera Company Collection, 1931-1989 [collection]

Title

National Negro Opera Company Collection, 1931-1989 [collection]

Dates Created

Span: 1941-1961

Bulk: 1941-1962

Language

English

Form

collection

Physical Description

35 ft.

67 boxes

Abstract

The National Negro Opera Company was an interracial performing arts organization founded in 1941 by Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962). Mrs. Dawson graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with degrees in piano, organ and voice. She opened the Cardwell School of Music in her home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927, and in 1941 presented Aida at a National Association of Negro Musicians Convention that was held in Pittsburgh. The company had guilds in various cities in the northeastern United States. Its repertory included: Aida, La Traviata and Il Trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi); Faust (Charles Gounod); Carmen (Georges Bizet); Ouanga (Clarence Cameron White); and The Ordering of Moses (R. Nathaniel Dett). The company ceased operations shortly after the death of Mrs. Dawson in 1962.

Contents Note

Correspondence, business papers, photographs, newspaper clippings, and costumes.

Preferred Citation

National Negro Opera Company Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress

Access Permissions

Researchers wishing to work with special collections are advised to inquire in advance about availability of material since many special collections are stored off-site.

Copyright

Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.

Subjects

African American Music

African Americans in the Performing Arts

Opera

Dawson, Mary Cardwell

White, Clarence Cameron

Dawson, Walter M.

Rhea, La Julia

Call Number

ML31.N39

Repository

Music Division, Library of Congress

Finding Aid

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu2005.wp.0031

Last Updated: 08-27-2012