William Franklin (singer)

For other people named William Franklin, see William Franklin (disambiguation).
William Franklin
Background information
Born1906 (1906)
Shaw, Tennessee, U.S.
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationOpera singer

William Franklin (born 1906, date of death unknown) was a baritone opera singer[1] who was considered to be a pioneering African American in the Chicago music scene.[citation needed] He has been described as the best baritone of his day, with some performances that "will long be remembered for [their] intensity of musical feeling."[2] He was known for his leading roles in a revival of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1944, and in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.[3]

  1. ^ Virgil Thomson (16 October 2014). Virgil Thomson: Music Chronicles 1940-1954 (LOA #258). Library of America. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-59853-364-4.
  2. ^ Smith, Eric Ledell (Winter 1995). "Pittsburgh's Black Opera Impressario [sic]: Mary Cardwell Dawson". Pennsylvania Heritage.
  3. ^ Tracy, Steven C. (November 1, 2011). Writers of the Black Chicago Renaissance. University of Illinois Press. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-252-09342-5.