William Ewart was born in Liverpool on May 1, 1798. His father was the son of the Rev. John Ewart, minister of Troqueer, another of whose sons was Joseph Ewart who became a notable diplomat and envoy‐extraordinary and minister‐plenipotentiary to Frederick William II, King of Prussia. William was the grandson of Andrew Ewart, minister of Kells, and the great‐great‐grandson of John Ewart of Mulloch, member of King William's first Parliament and who, till 1697, represented the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The family as provosts and bailies of Kirkcudbright can be traced back to 1583. Thus, but for the infusion of the Yorkshire strain from his mother, William Ewart was a Galloway man of long and notable descent.
In this chapter, the author reflects on the issue of race in opera and its impact on black singers. He first recounts his European operatic debut in Milan in 1960, singing the role of Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, and how his performance prompted numerous references to “il Rodolfo nero”(“The black Rodolfo”) in many Italian newspapers. The author reveals how blackness has figured in his theater performances since he entered the singing profession, including those with the Scottish Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He notes that black singers of opera remain minorities in the profession numerically and racially; they are rarely, if ever, selected to interpret white roles in operas that focus on life in contemporary white society. He concludes by saying that he will not discourage young black singers from following their dreams of singing the great roles, and that the profession must respect what the artist brings vocally, musically, and dramatically as well as the opera-loving public's voracious appetite for great singing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.