Everything about Todd Duncan totally explained
Robert Todd Duncan (
February 2,
1903,
Danville, Kentucky–
February 28,
1998,
Washington, D.C.) was an
American baritone opera singer and actor.
He obtained his musical training at
Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.A. in music followed by an M.A. from
Columbia University Teachers College. In 1933, Duncan debuted in
Mascagni's
Cavalleria Rusticana at the Mecca Temple in New York with the Aeolian Opera, a black opera company.
Duncan was
George Gershwin's personal choice as the first performer of the role of Porgy in
Porgy and Bess in
1935 and played the role more than 1,800 times. He led the cast during the Washington run of
Porgy and Bess at in 1936, to protest the theatre's policy of
segregation. Duncan stated that he "would never play in a theater which barred him from purchasing tickets to certain seats because of his race." Eventually management would give into the demands and allow for the first integrated performance at National Theatre. Duncan was also the first performer for the role of Stephen Kumalo in
Kurt Weill's
Lost in the Stars.
Duncan taught voice at
Howard University in Washington, D.C. for more than fifty years. While teaching at Howard, he continued touring as a soloist with concert pianist
William Duncan Allen. He had a very successful career as a concert singer with over 2,000 performances in 56 countries. He retired from Howard and opened his own voice studio teaching privately and giving periodic recitals.
In 1945, he became the first African American to sing with a major opera company, when he sang the role of Tonio in
Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci with the
New York City Opera. In the same year he sang the role of Escamillo the bullfighter, in
Bizet's
Carmen.
In
1978, the Washington Performing Arts Society presented his 75th birthday gala.
Duncan was awarded the George Peabody Medal of Music from the
Peabody Conservatory of Music of
Johns Hopkins University in 1984. Other awards he received include a medal of honor from
Haiti, an
NAACP award, the Donaldson Award, the New York Drama Critics' Award for
Lost in the Stars, and honorary doctorates from
Valparaiso University and Butler University.
Duncan is a member of
Alpha Phi Alpha, the first inter-collegiate
Greek-letter organization established for African Americans.
He died of a heart ailment at his home in Washington, D.C.
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