Grace Bumbry

Grace Melzia Ann Bumbry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on January 4, 1937. As a youth she sang in church choirs. In 1955 she entered Northwestern University, where she studied voice with the great Lotte Lehman, and transferred with her to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. In 1958 she was joint winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions, sharing first place with Martina Arroyo. She won some other prizes, and made her professional debut in a recital in London in 1959. Her first operatic appearance was at the Paris Opéra, as Amneris in Verdi's Aid...