Roland Hayes: Difference between revisions

'''Roland Wiltse Hayes''' (June 3, 1887 &ndash; January 1, 1977) was an American lyric tenor and composer. Critics lauded his abilities and linguistic skills demonstrated with songs in [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], and [[Italian language|Italian]]. Hayes’ predecessors as well-known [[African-American]] concert artists, including [[Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones|Sissieretta Jones]] and [[Marie Selika Williams|Marie Selika]] , were not recorded. Along with [[Marian Anderson]] and [[Paul Robeson]], Hayes was one of the first to break this barrier in the classical repertoire when in 1939 he recorded with [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] in 1939.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Review of The Art of|jstor = 3051692|journal = American Music|date =January 1, 1991|pages = 427–430|volume = 9|issue = 4|doi = 10.2307/3051692|first = Rosalyn|last = Story}}</ref>

In January 1915 Hayes premiered in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] in concerts presented by orchestra leader [[Walter F. Craig]].<ref>Brooks 2015, p. 36.</ref> Hayes performed his own [[musical arrangement]]s in [[recital]]s from 1916 to 1919, touring from coast to coast. For his first recital he was unable to find a sponsor so he used 200 dollars of his own money to rent [[Jordan Hall (Boston)|Jordan Hall]] for his classical recital. To earn money he went on a tour of black churches and colleges in the South. In 1917 he announced his second concert, which would be held in [[Symphony Hall, Boston|Boston's Symphony Hall]]. On November 15, 1917, every seat in the hall was sold and Hayes's concert was a success both musically and financially, but the [[music industry]] was still not considering him a top classical performer.<ref>Tim Brooks, Richard Keith Spottswood, ''Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890–1919'', University of Illinois Press, 2004.</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2013}} He sang at Walter Craig's Pre-Lenten Recitals<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = McFarland| isbn = 9780786414673| last = Nettles| first = Darryl Glenn| title = African American Concert Singers Before 1950| date =March 1, 2003 | page = 29}}</ref> and several [[Carnegie Hall]] concerts. He performed with the [[Philadelphia Concert Orchestra]], and at the Atlanta Colored Music Festivals and at the Washington Conservatory<!--Is that the National Conservatory of Music of America?--> concerts. In 1917, he toured with the Hayes Trio, which he formed with baritone William Richardson (singer) and pianist William Lawrence (pianist).

In April 1920, Hayes traveled to Europe. He began lessons with [[Sir George Henschel]], who was the first conductor of the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]], and gave his first recital in London's [[Aeolian Hall, London|Aeolian Hall]] in May 1920 with pianist Lawrence Brown as his accompanist. By at least June 1921 he was being invited to sing at private house parties; the poet [[Siegfried Sassoon]] heard him while staying with the wealthy music-lover [[Frank Schuster (music patron)|Frank Schuster]] at Bray-on-Thames.<ref>Hart-Davis, Rupert, ed. ''Siegfried Sassoon Diaries, 1920-1922'', Faber and Faber, London, 1981, p.69:"Have written one poem, 'A Negro Singer' - Roland Hayes, who came down last Sunday and sang Fauré's 'Apres un Rêve' beautifully, and some spirituals, [[Adrian Boult]] at the piano."
</ref> Soon Hayes was singing in capital cities across Europe and was quite famous. Almost a year after his arrival in Europe, Hayes had a concert at London's [[Wigmore Hall]]. The next day, he received a summons from [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] to give a command performance at [[Buckingham Palace]]. He returned to the United States of America in 1923. He made his official debut on November 16, 1923, in Boston's Symphony Hall singing [[Berlioz]], [[Mozart]], and spirituals, conducted by [[Pierre Monteux]], which received critical acclaim. He was the first African-American soloist to appear with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.<ref>Canarina, John (2003). ''Pierre Monteux, Maître''. Pompton Plains, New Jersey: Amadeus Press, p. 71.</ref> He was awarded the [[Spingarn Medal]] in 1924.

In 1932, while in [[Los Angeles]], for a [[Hollywood Bowl]] performance, he married Helen Alzada Mann (1893–1988). The new Mrs. Hayes was born in Chattanooga and graduated from what is now [[Tennessee State University]]. One year later they had a daughter, Afrika Hayes.<ref>[http://www.schillerinstitute.org/fid_91-96/942_afrika_hayes.html "Afrika Hayes Interview: Growing Up With Roland Hayes"], Schiller Institute. Reprinted from the Summer 1994 issue of ''FIDELIO Magazine''.</ref> The family moved into a home in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]]. In 1943 he sang several times in Britain to entertain troops, and appeared at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] on 29 September as the soloist before a 200-member choir of all Black soldiers, and all from USAAF Engineer Aviation Battalions. After the concert he dined at the London residence of Lt. Gen. [[John C. H. Lee]], Commanding General of all logistics forces in the [[European Theater of Operations]], who routinely received visiting political, manufacturing, and show business figures in the Theater.

Hayes, before departing from Prague for Berlin in 1924, was warned by American Consul General not to go to [[Weimar Republic|Germany]] until the [[Occupation of the Rhineland|occupying armies]] had been withdrawn, as [[Germans]] had bitter feelings over being occupied by [[Black Horror on the Rhine|armies with black troops]]. An open letter to the American Ambassador was published in a Berlin newspaper, calling "for the prevention of a certain calamity: namely, the concert of an American Negro who has come to Berlin to defile the name of the German poets and composers". despite this protest, Hayes wrote, "I refused to believe ... that they would hold me, a private Negro citizen of the United States, responsible for the presence of French-speaking Africans". Hayes booked his recital at [[Konzerthaus Berlin]] with no difficulties. Germans were still unhappy about his appearance in Berlin, and when he appeared on stage several members of the audience began to boo and hiss at the singer. Despite the hostile climate, Hayes began to sing [[Franz Schubert]]'s "[[Du bist die Ruh']]". Hayes's remarkable voice and musical talent won over the audience and his concert was a success.<ref>[[Kira Thurman]], "A History of Black Musicians in Germany and Austria, 1870-1961: Race, Performance, and Reception" (2013), p. 145-146</ref>

Hayes's wife and daughter mistakenly sat in seats reserved for white customers in a shoe store in [[Rome, Georgia]] in 1942. An argument erupted which resulted in the two leaving. Later, Hayes confronted the store owner, whom he knew, and resolved the conflict. Upon leaving, Hayes was assaulted by police and put under arrest, with his wife also being taken into custody. Gradually the story received national attention and much sympathy for Hayes. The assaulting police officer was fired, with federal charges made against him.<ref>Christopher A. Brooks, Robert Sims "Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor" (2014), p. 242-255</ref> A poem by [[Langston Hughes]], entitled "How About It, Dixie", refers to the incident.<ref>[http://library.globalchalet.net/Authors/Poetry%20Books%20Collection/The%20Collected%20Poems%20of%20Langston%20Hughes.pdf "How About It, Dixie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307123401/http://library.globalchalet.net/Authors/Poetry%20Books%20Collection/The%20Collected%20Poems%20of%20Langston%20Hughes.pdf |date=2017-03-07 }}. in ''The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes'', p. 291, note p. 659; first published in ''New Masses'' (October 20, 1942).</ref>

* There is a historical marker located on the grounds of Calhoun High School (Calhoun, Georgia) on the north-west corner of the campus near the front of the Calhoun Civic Auditorium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1671|title=Georgiaencyclopedia.org|access-date=2009-03-04|archive-date=2007-07-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702035708/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1671|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Category:American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent]]