The Magic of Grace Bumbry -
great performances

Fri, Oct 3 9:00 P.M. NHPBS (11.1)  

The story of the African American Missouri native who became the toast of the 1960s international opera scene. Her fairytale rise began in an era of entrenched 1950s racism when she was prevented from studying at the St. Louis Institute of Music, despite having won a radio competition at the age of 17. Regardless of this injustice, her subsequent triumphs became even more dazzling. She first achieved international renown with her breakthrough performance in Tannhauser at the 1961 Bayreuth Festival, where she received 40 ecstatic curtain calls. While many singers have great careers, Grace Bumbry's was more than that - it was groundbreaking - and the story of her performance in the 1966 production of Carmen directed by legendary German conductor Herbert von Karajan was one of her most magical moments.

Duration: 57 minutes and 0 seconds

Episode Number: 5115

All broadcast times for this episode: (show all)

Fri, Oct 3

9:00 P.M.

The Magic of Grace Bumbry     NHPBS (11.1)

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