Gloria Davy

Gloria Davy (March 29, 1931, Brooklyn – November 28, 2012, Geneva) was a Swiss soprano of American birth who had an active international career in operas and concerts from the 1950s through the 1980s. A talented spinto soprano, she was widely acclaimed for her portrayal of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida; a role she performed in many of the world's top opera houses. She was notably the first black artist to perform the role of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1958. While she performed a broad repertoire, she was particularly admired for her interpretations of 20th-century music, including the works of Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten and Paul Hindemith.

Davy was part of the first generation of African-American singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world. She first drew notice in 1952 when she won the Marian Anderson Award, and then as Bess on an international tour of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess from 1954–1956. Concert and opera engagements with major orchestras and opera houses in the United States and Europe soon following. In 1959 she married Swiss stockbroker Herman Penningsfield; at which point she left New York to reside in Geneva, Switzerland. After this point her singing career was mainly based in Europe, with only occasional appearances in the United States.

After 1973, Davy's career shifted from opera towards concert work; although she occasionally still performed stage roles. From 1984–1997 she taught on the voice faculty at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University while still maintaining her home in Geneva. She died in Geneva at the age of 81.

Born in Brooklynn, New York, Davy was the daughter of immigrants from the island of Saint Vincent in the Windward Islands. Her father was a token clerk in the New York City subway system. She graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City in 1951 before entering the Juilliard School where she earned a degree in vocal performance in 1953. At Juilliard she was a pupil of Belle Julie Soudant, who also taught opera singers Frances Bible and Andrew Frierson. After completing her degree she remained at Juilliard for one more year to pursue post-graduate studies in opera. In April 1954 she appeared as Countess Madeleine in the U.S. premiere run of Richard Strauss' Capriccio with the Juilliard Opera. She later studied singing in Milan with Victor de Sabata.

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