Listen to Grace Bumbry, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!

Classical

United States of America

Grace Bumbry

Top Songs By Grace Bumbry

Don Carlo: "La Regina!"Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Renata Tebaldi, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Jeanette Sinclair

Listen to Don Carlo: "Giustizia!" by Renata Tebaldi, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Grace Bumbry & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Giustizia!"Renata Tebaldi, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Grace Bumbry & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Listen to Don Carlo: "Ah! Sii Maledetto, Sospetto Fatale" by Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Renata Tebaldi, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Ah! Sii Maledetto, Sospetto Fatale"Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Renata Tebaldi

Listen to Don Carlo: "Mio Carlo, a Te la Spada Io Rendo!" by Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Kenneth McDonald, Grace Bumbry & Martti Talvela, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Mio Carlo, a Te la Spada Io Rendo!"Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Kenneth McDonald, Grace Bumbry & Martti Talvela

Listen to Carmen - Opera in four acts, Act I: Quand je vous aimerai?...L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) by Grace Bumbry, Jon Vickers, Kostas Paskalis, Eliane Lublin, Viorica Cortez, Albert Voli, Claude Meloni, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jean Laforge, Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, Abbe Delsinne, Paris Opera Orchestra, Mirella Freni & Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris, see lyrics, music video & more!

Carmen - Opera in four acts, Act I: Quand je vous aimerai?...L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)Grace Bumbry, Jon Vickers, Kostas Paskalis, Eliane Lublin, Viorica Cortez, Albert Voli, Claude Meloni, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jean Laforge, Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, Abbe Delsinne, Paris Opera Orchestra, Mirella Freni & Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris

Listen to Don Carlo: "O Don Fatale" by Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "O Don Fatale"Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Listen to Don Carlo: "Al Mio Furor Sfuggitte Invano" by Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Carlo Bergonzi, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Al Mio Furor Sfuggitte Invano"Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Carlo Bergonzi

Listen to Don Carlo: "Nei Giardin del Bello" by Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jeanette Sinclair & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Nei Giardin del Bello"Grace Bumbry, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jeanette Sinclair & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Listen to Don Carlo: "A Mezzanotte, Ai Giardin Della Regina" by Carlo Bergonzi, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "A Mezzanotte, Ai Giardin Della Regina"Carlo Bergonzi, Sir Georg Solti, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Listen to Don Carlo: "Sotto Ai Folti, Immensi Abeti" by Jeanette Sinclair, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, see lyrics, music video & more!

Don Carlo: "Sotto Ai Folti, Immensi Abeti"Jeanette Sinclair, Sir Georg Solti, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grace Bumbry & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Latest Release

Listen to Grace Bumbry - Carmen and other legendary recordings by Grace Bumbry

ALBUMGrace Bumbry - Carmen and other legendary recordingsGrace Bumbry

More albums from Grace Bumbry

Listen to Schubert & Schumann: Lieder by Grace Bumbry & Geoffrey Parsons

ALBUMSchubert & Schumann: LiederGrace Bumbry & Geoffrey Parsons

Listen to Verdi: Aïda by Zubin Mehta, Orchestra of the Rome Opera House, Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli & Grace Bumbry

ALBUMVerdi: AïdaZubin Mehta, Orchestra of the Rome Opera House, Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli & Grace Bumbry

Listen to Famous Opera Arias by Grace Bumbry, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra & Stefan Soltesz

ALBUMFamous Opera AriasGrace Bumbry, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra & Stefan Soltesz

Listen to Wagner: Tannhäuser (Romantic Opera in 3 Acts) [Bayreuther Festspiele] by Josef Greindl, Wolfgang Windgassen, Eberhard Wächter, Gerhard Stolze, Franz Crass, Georg Paskuda, Gerd Nienstedt, Anja Silja, Grace Bumbry, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Else-Margrete Gardelli

ALBUMWagner: Tannhäuser (Romantic Opera in 3 Acts) [Bayreuther Festspiele]Josef Greindl, Wolfgang Windgassen, Eberhard Wächter, Gerhard Stolze, Franz Crass, Georg Paskuda, Gerd Nienstedt, Anja Silja, Grace Bumbry, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Else-Margrete Gardelli

Listen to Verdi: Aida by Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry & Zubin Mehta

ALBUMVerdi: AidaBirgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry & Zubin Mehta

ALBUMVerdi - AidaBirgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry & Zubin Mehta

Listen to Carmen by Grace Bumbry, Herbert von Karajan & John Vickers

ALBUMCarmenGrace Bumbry, Herbert von Karajan & John Vickers

Listen to Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite; Falla: El amor brujo; El sombrero de tres picos by Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Grace Bumbry & Lorin Maazel

ALBUMStravinsky: The Firebird Suite; Falla: El amor brujo; El sombrero de tres picosRundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Grace Bumbry & Lorin Maazel

Listen to J. Strauss II: Der Zigeunerbaron by Grace Bumbry, Nicolai Gedda, Rita Streich, Hermann Prey, Wolfgang Anheisser, Kurt Böhme, Franz Allers, Gisela Litz, Biserka Cvejic, Bavarian State Orchestra & Willi Brokmeier

ALBUMJ. Strauss II: Der ZigeunerbaronGrace Bumbry, Nicolai Gedda, Rita Streich, Hermann Prey, Wolfgang Anheisser, Kurt Böhme, Franz Allers, Gisela Litz, Biserka Cvejic, Bavarian State Orchestra & Willi Brokmeier

Listen to Verdi: Don Carlo by Renata Tebaldi, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Grace Bumbry, Nicolai Ghiaurov & Sir Georg Solti

ALBUMVerdi: Don CarloRenata Tebaldi, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Grace Bumbry, Nicolai Ghiaurov & Sir Georg Solti

Listen to Wagner: Tannhäuser by Anja Silja, Grace Bumbry, Wolfgang Windgassen, Eberhard Wächter, Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Wolfgang Sawallisch

ALBUMWagner: TannhäuserAnja Silja, Grace Bumbry, Wolfgang Windgassen, Eberhard Wächter, Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Wolfgang Sawallisch

Listen to Handel: Messiah - Arias & Choruses by Dame Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, Kenneth McKellar, David Ward, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult

ALBUMHandel: Messiah - Arias & ChorusesDame Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, Kenneth McKellar, David Ward, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult

Listen to Handel: Messiah (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy II, Vol. 2) by Dame Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, Kenneth McKellar, David Ward, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult

ALBUMHandel: Messiah (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy II, Vol. 2)Dame Joan Sutherland, Grace Bumbry, Kenneth McKellar, David Ward, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Adrian Boult

About Grace Bumbry

Hometown

St. Louis, United States of America

Born

1937

Genre

Classical

A trailblazer in the operatic world, mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry was the first singer of color to appear at the Bayreuth Festival and was the first Black opera singer to perform in the White House. Inspired as a child by attending Marian Anderson concerts, Bumbry would continue the legacy of that famed singer. In 1958, she was a joint winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions. She made operatic history in 1961 when she was engaged by Wieland Wagner to sing at the Bayreuth Festival. During the '60s, she worked on extending her range. In 1970, she made her debut as a soprano. Between operatic performances, she established a fine recital career, stressing the core repertory of German lieder. Bumbry retired from operatic roles in 1997, becoming a voice teacher and performing occasional recitals.