Betty Allen Dies At 82

bettyallen-600I’d like to interrupt the orgy of Michael Jackson coverage by paying homage to another African-American musical talent, one who won’t be eulogized on television but whose influence on artists was long and large. I’m talking about Betty Allen (pictured), who died on Monday at the age of 82. As this obituary has it, Miss Allen was “an American mezzo-soprano who transcended a Dickensian girlhood to become an internationally known opera singer and later a prominent voice teacher and arts administrator.” What a life this woman had! A favorite of composers Ned Rorem and Virgil Thomson and often engaged by Maestro Leonard Bernstein, Miss Allen was, to put it in vernacular, somethin’ else. She was even a classmate of Leontyne Price at Wilberforce College in Ohio. Read the obituary!

2 Comments to “Betty Allen Dies At 82”

  1. Thank you for making note of Betty Allen’s passing, and her extradordinary life. I was luck to study with her, live with her family, and work with her at HSA. She was well loved and much admired by many, and I only wish she had been more broadly recognized. Such intelligence, humor and humanity in one person… Hugs to Edd, Anthony and Juju for your loss.

  2. Thank you for posting this.

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