Jones, Sissieretta (born Matilda Sissieretta Joyner)
Jones, Sissieretta (born Matilda Sissieretta Joyner)
Jones, Sissieretta (born Matilda Sissieretta Joyner ) , noted black American soprano, known as the “Black Patti” (with reference to Adelina Patti); b. Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 5, 1868; d. Providence, R.I., June 24, 1933. She studied at the New England Cons, of Music in Boston, and with Louise Capianni and Mme. Scongia in London. She made her debut at a concert at N.Y.’s Steinway Hall on April 5, 1888, then began to tour from 1890, giving concerts in the West Indies, North America, and Europe. She gained prominence as a result of her appearances at the Grand Negro Jubilee at N.Y.’s Madison Square Garden and at the White House in a command performance for President Harrison (1892); then sang at the Pittsburgh Exposition and the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition (1893). N.Y.’s Metropolitan Opera considered her for African roles in Aida and L’Africaine, but racial attitudes and conservative management policies precluded such appearances. She was the principal soprano of the vaudeville troupe known as Black Patti’s Troubadours (1896–1915), with which she toured throughout the world; she starred in its operatic “kaleidoscope,” in which she sang a medley of arias from operas in staged scenes; she also sang art songs and popular ballads.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire