Sissieretta Jones

Singer

• Born: January 5, 1869
• Birthplace: Portsmouth, Virginia
• Died: June 24, 1933
• Place of death: Providence, Rhode Island

Jones was one of the first black female singers to specialize in operatic and recital repertoire after the abolition of slavery. She paved the way for the careers of singers such as Marian Anderson and Kathleen Battle, who achieved status that was not possible in Jones’s lifetime.

Early Life

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner (muh-TIL-duh sih-see-uh-REH-tuh JOY-nur) was born a few years after the abolition of slavery. She was the daughter of Henrietta and Jeremiah Malachi Joyner, a minister. Known to her family as “Sissy” or “Tilly,” she was an only child, a brother having died young. In 1876, the family moved from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Providence, Rhode Island. This relocation was an important step; Providence was Jones’s home for the rest of her life. It was in Providence, Boston, and later in New York that she obtained the education that launched her professional career. From 1884 to 1887, she studied at the Academy of Music in Providence; subsequently, she continued her education in Boston, a major center of musical culture, although there is conflicting evidence as to whether she studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music or the New England Conservatory. In 1884, Jones married her manager, Richard Jones, but they later divorced. She never remarried. In 1894, Jones worked with Antonín Dvořák, who was then the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. His interest in musical nationalism, an important component of his work in his native Czech lands, clearly led to his exploration of American Indian and African American music, since he counted Jones and the bass-baritone Harry T. Burleigh among his students in New York.

Life’s Work

Jones established her reputation as a recitalist because discrimination prevented African American singers from performing on the operatic stage. This barrier was not broken until after her death. Nevertheless, Jones’s repertoire was comparable to that of white singers of her time; she was nicknamed “the Black Patti” in 1888, a comparison to the Italian singer Adelina Patti. Jones performed widely in the southern United States, the Caribbean, and Europe in 1894-1895. On several occasions, she sang at the White House, as well as for Queen Victoria during her European tour.

Jones toured with the Tennessee Jubilee Singers and the Black Patti Troubadours, singing a repertoire that set her apart from her fellow performers. Most of her operatic repertoire was in Italian and French, including Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida and Giacomo Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, which became her signature works. Jones’s classical mastery paved the way for Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, and others who followed in her footsteps. In the tradition of her predecessor Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was self-taught after being freed from slavery as a child, Jones demonstrated professional capability that transcended any particular audience, singing works that were not expected by either the black or the white community. She was widely admired and achieved a reputation that transcended race or sex. A beautiful woman who dressed carefully, she was adept at marketing herself. Jones retired after World War I and died of cancer in Providence in 1933.

Significance

Jones was a pioneer in American music, one of the first black singers to pursue a career in opera and concert music, rather than the indigenous music of the black community. Her success was an important milestone at a time when American music was not yet defined in style. Jones’s career, which she took as far as the social barriers of her time allowed, made her a role model for many African American singers who followed her.

Bibliography

Block, Adrienne Fried, and Nancy Stewart. “Women in American Music, 1800-1918.” In Women in Music: A History. 2d ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. Jones is noted in the context of female American singers, both white and black.

Nash, Elizabeth. Autobiographical Reminiscences of African American Classical Singers, 1853-Present: Introducing Their Spiritual Heritage into the Concert Repertoire. Preface by Badi G. Foster. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007. Jones is one of the singers profiled in this rich collection of autobiographical writings, interviews, and articles.

Reed, Teresa L. “Black Women in Art Music.” In Black Women and Music: More than the Blues, edited by Eileen M. Hayes and Linda F. Williams. Foreword by Ingrid Monson. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007. Discusses Jones’s work in the context of African American female musicians active in many different musical styles.

Skowronski, JoAnn. Women in American Music: A Bibliography. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978. Annotated bibliography of references on female composers and performers in American music.

Smith, Eric Ledell. Blacks in Opera: An Encyclopedia of People and Companies, 1873-1993. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1995. Detailed reference specifically focusing on black performers, their vocal registers, training, major roles, and awards. Includes index and appendixes with geographical and musical information.