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Private company

Opera Ebony

African American opera company in New York City

Opera Ebony is an African-American opera company that has performed in a wide variety of programs and venues, ranging from Mozart in Harlem to African-American Heritage concerts in Iceland to Gershwin in Moscow to Duke Ellington in the Caribbean. African-American opera stars that were trained by Opera Ebony or have performed with the company include sopranos Marvis Martin, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle; baritone Lawrence Craig; and conductors Leslie Dunner, Everett Lee and Tania León.2 It was founded by Benjamin Matthews.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1973Founded1

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Opera Ebony is an African-American opera company that has performed in a wide variety of programs and venues, ranging from Mozart in Harlem to African-American Heritage concerts in Iceland to Gershwin in Moscow to Duke Ellington in the Caribbean. African-American opera stars that were trained by Opera Ebony or have performed with the company include sopranos Marvis Martin, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle; baritone Lawrence Craig; and conductors Leslie Dunner, Everett Lee and Tania León.2

The story

Founded by Benjamin Matthews in 1973.1

Leadership

Who has led Opera Ebony, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Timeline

  1. 1973Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2