Louise Parker (contralto)

Louise Parker (July 23, 1926 – September 15, 1986) was an American opera singer (contralto) and later also a vocal teacher.

Louise Parker began studying music at the age of 8. She won the Marian Anderson Scholarship two times. She was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and attended from 1946 to 1950, studying voice with Marion Freschl. She is credited with being the first black graduate of the institute.^[1]

She made her official New York debut in 1958. Shortly after, she was invited to the New York City Opera to perform Addie in Regina, an opera composed by fellow Curtis alum Marc Blitzstein. Throughout her career, she performed in India, Indonesia, and the British West Indies. She also toured frequently in Europe. 1967 saw her record Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea in Alfred Hertz Memorial Hall of Music at the University of California, Berkley, with conductor Alan Curtis (role Arnalta). In the same year, she joined the cast of Henze's Young Lord at San Diego Opera, as Begonia.^[2]

In 1961, Ms. Parker was a soloist on The Sound of Stokowski and Wagner, featuring selections from Wagner's Die Walküre and Das Rheingold. In 1963, she recorded Händel's oratorio Samson with soprano Phyllis Curtin and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. In May 1964, she sang the contralto part in Mahler's Symphony of the Thousand at Vienna's Musikverein, conducted by Josef Krips.^[3]

In 1971, she appeared in Leopold Stokowski’s last New York performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. In 1972, she sang the mother in the world premiere of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha in Atlanta, Georgia, a joint production of the music department of Morehouse College and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, using the orchestration by T. J. Anderson. The performance in Atlanta was conducted by Robert Shaw, and in the Morehouse Glee Club by Wendell Whalum, her co-stars were Alpha Floyd (as Treemonisha) and Seth McCoy (as Remus).^[4][5] Katherine Dunham was stage director.^[6]

The New York Times wrote about one of her early New York recitals: "Her deep, vibrant voice filled the auditorium with warm, lustrous sounds.”^[1]

After the end of her public performances Louise Parker took on various teaching positions at Temple University, Western Connecticut State College, and the Jenkintown Music School. She passed away at age 60 at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Philadelphia.

• Oscar Hammerstein II: Show Boat, 1962
• Händel: Samson (Handel), 1963
• Hindemith: When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom, 1964
• Monteverdi: The Coronation of Poppea, 1967
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, 1972 (with Leopold Stokowski conducting)^[7]

• Concert and Opera Singer Louise Parker Dies at 60, Orbituary in the Los Angeles Times, 19 September 1986
• Louise Parker Is Dead; An Operatic Contralto, Orbituary in the NYT, 20 September 1986
• Celebrating Black History: Louise Parker (Voice '50), Curtis Institute of Music
• Louise Parker at Discogs