Anne Wiggins Brown papers

African American soprano Anne Wiggins Brown was best known for creating the role of "Bess" in the original Broadway production of George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. In addition to her Broadway career, Brown was an accomplished radio and concert singer, and teacher. Brown's career spanned five decades, during which she toured the United States, Europe, and the world. During her late thirties, Brown attained Norwegian citizenship and moved to Oslo, Norway, where she resided until her death in 2009.

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Brown was born on August 9, 1912, to Dr. Harry F. Brown and Mamie Wiggins. One of four girls, Brown grew up surrounded by music, frequently listening to the recordings of Caruso, Melba, and Schumann-Hank. Convinced of her daughter's talent, Wiggins encouraged Brown to audition for the Peabody Conservatory. After garnering positive feedback for her audition, Brown was ultimately denied admission because of her race.

In 1928, at the age of sixteen, Brown was accepted into the prestigious Institute of Musical Art at the Julliard School in New York City. While at Julliard, Brown studied opera and vocal technique under Lucia Dunham. Although still faced with racial stricture, Brown felt she was able to escape some of the South's strict racial codes while living in New York City. Brown received her diploma in voice in 1932 and her artist's diploma in 1934.

Prior to her graduation from Julliard, Brown requested an audition for Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Brown's initial audition was so successful she was immediately introduced to members of the production team, including Gershwin's brother Ira, director Rouben Mamoulian, and librettist Dubose Heyward, and was subsequently offered the role of "Bess." Porgy and Bess opened on September 30, 1935, at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts and moved to the Alvin Theatre on Broadway on October 10, 1935. Brown played "Bess" for all one hundred and twenty four performances of the Broadway run.

Brown maintained a close working relationship with Gershwin, appearing in his London production of the musical Blackbirds and his 1945 film Rhapsody in Blue. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s Brown performed nationally and internationally, predominately in Europe. Brown frequently stated that she left the United States because of persistent racial prejudice. After World War II, Brown and Todd Duncan, the original "Porgy" in Porgy and Bess, reprised their roles at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen.

In 1948, Brown married Norwegian ski jump champion Thorleif Schjelderup and established permanent residence in Norway. Schelderup was Brown's third marriage. In 1951 Schelderup and Brown had a daughter named Vaar. Brown also had a daughter named Paula from her second marriage to Dr. Jacob Petit. Although Schjelderup and Brown later divorced, Brown and her daughters remained in Norway.

In the 1960s, Brown began her teaching career at the National Theatre School in Norway. During her time at the school, Brown directed a production of Porgy and Bess in France. The production was comprised of African American principles and a white French chorus. Brown continued coaching privately in Norway until the 1990s.

In 1998, the Peabody Conservatory, which had denied Brown admission seventy years earlier, awarded her the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America. Among her other awards are Honorary Citizen of New Orleans (1991), Honorary Citizen of Baltimore (1999), and the Norway Council of Cultures Honorary Award (2000). Brown died on March 13, 2009, at the age of ninety six in Oslo, Norway.