Rafaelo Diaz, tenor
One hundred years ago today … Rafaelo Diaz, Cuban American opera star, performed an open-air concert at the Stadium, Amsterdam and 138th Street.
New-York Tribune, 10 July 1921, IV. 5. Newspapers.com.
The Stadium (1915-1973), sometimes called New Stadium, would eventually be known as Lewisohn Satdium, after its chief funder, Adolph Lewisohn. NY1920s posted on the groundbreaking outdoor Stadium Concert series held there just about one year ago.
On this day in 1921, the lengthy program (below) included Diaz performing Victor Herbert’s opera “American Fantasy.”
New-York Tribune, 10 July 1921, IV. 5. Newspapers.com.
Diaz, originally from Texas, had joined New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1918 and would remain part of the company until 1936. According to Jeremy Roberts of the Texas State Historical Association, “He sang in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German, and was known as the ‘Lone Star Tenor of the Lone Star State.’ ”
– Jonathan Goldman, July 11, 2021
TAGS: music, opera, classical, Ponchielli, concerts, singers, Latinx history, polyglot,