Robert Mosley facts for kids
Robert Mosley (born 1927 – died April 30, 2002) was a talented American opera singer. He had a deep male voice, known as a bass-baritone. Robert Mosley was one of the first African-American opera singers to become widely famous. He sang in many opera shows, concerts, and special performances from the 1950s to the 1990s. In 1957, he won a big award called the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. People especially loved his performance as Porgy in the opera Porgy and Bess. He played this role in a famous 1976 show by the Houston Grand Opera, on Broadway, and at the Metropolitan Opera. He also performed this role with other opera groups in the United States and Europe.
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Robert Mosley's Early Life and Start in Music
Robert Mosley was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a part of Pittsburgh called Oakland. He went to Schenley High School and finished in 1946. After high school, he studied singing at West Chester University. His teacher there was William E. Bretz.
In the early 1950s, Robert Mosley started singing in local music shows in Pittsburgh. He also sometimes appeared as a singer on a TV show called The Bill Brant Show on KDKA-TV. From 1955 to 1957, he was the regular singer for a morning show on that same TV network.
Big Wins and Moving to New York City
In 1957, Robert Mosley won the Great Lakes Regional Auditions. These were part of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air in Cleveland, Ohio. Soon after, he won a scholarship from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York. This was a big step for his career.
He then started performing in concerts. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he sang with groups like the Pittsburgh Wind Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the American Broadcasting Company Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony.
In 1962, Robert Mosley moved to New York City. He wanted to study singing even more. He won the John Jay Whitney Foundation prize, which gave him money for professional vocal training. That same year, he won the Marian Anderson Award. In 1963, he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. In New York City, he learned from famous teachers like Giuseppe Danise and Pasquale Rescigno.
Becoming a Famous Opera Singer
In 1965, Robert Mosley performed in his first professional opera. He played Porgy in Porgy and Bess with the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center. That same year, he gave his first solo concert in New York at Town Hall. Later that year, he sang Porgy again for his first performance with the New York Philharmonic.
In 1966, he returned to the New York City Opera. He played Valentin in Faust alongside famous singer Beverly Sills. That same year, he played Joe in Show Boat. He toured South America with this show for the United States State Department. He played Joe again in 1967 for his first show at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. In 1980, he played Joe at the Goodspeed Opera House. In 1969, he sang with the New York City Opera again as Tonio in Pagliacci. He also toured the United States singing in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the American Symphony Orchestra.
Important Roles and Performances
In 1971, Robert Mosley made his first appearance at the San Francisco Opera (SFO). He sang the main role in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. He returned to the SFO two more times. In 1972, he played Trinity Moses in Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. In 1977, he played Porgy again.
In 1972, he played Amonasro in Aida. In 1973, he played Trinity Moses for his first show with the Opera Company of Boston. In 1974, he played Amonasro for his first show with the Seattle Opera. He also created a new role, Leonce, in the first-ever performance of William Grant Still's A Bayou Legend. This happened in Jackson, Mississippi, on April 10, 1976.
The Iconic Porgy Role
In 1976, Robert Mosley made his first appearance at the Houston Grand Opera (HGO). He played Porgy in their famous production of Porgy and Bess. Clamma Dale played Bess. He shared the role of Porgy with another singer, Donnie Ray Albert.
He continued to share the role with Albert when the show moved to Broadway in 1976–1977. They also performed together on a 1978 European tour of the HGO production. This tour included shows at the Paris Opera and other major theaters. He also sang Porgy in the 1983 Broadway revival.
On February 23, 1985, Robert Mosley made his first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera. He played Porgy, with Grace Bumbry as Bess. James Levine was the conductor. He performed this role for two seasons at the Met.
During his career, Robert Mosley also sang leading roles with many other opera companies. Some of his other famous roles included Ford in Falstaff, Germont in La traviata, Iago in Otello, Scarpia in Tosca, and the main role in The Flying Dutchman. He continued to perform until the last years of his life. However, his performance schedule became much slower after the mid-1980s. He spent his last years living in Kure Beach, North Carolina.
