By Carnegie Hall
Digital portrait by Stanley Chow, © Carnegie Hall
The Greatest Singer
Known as the Black Adelina Patti—a somewhat reductive catchphrase, as their voices would seem to have been quite dissimilar, Jones was one of the first African American headliners to appear at Carnegie Hall.
Her first appearance was with the Society of the Sons of New York Farewell Concert in 1892 and she made her debut in the Main Hall in February 1893.
She performed again in 1894 and her final appearance at Carnegie Hall was for the Zion Grand Centennial Jubilee in 1896.
Sissieretta Jones Memorabilia (2022) by Carnegie Hall ArchivesCarnegie Hall
She left no recordings, so we can only guess at what she sounded like. Regardless, she must have been an estimable artist, as she sang for four US presidents and at Madison Square Garden before her retirement in 1916.
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