The American soprano Grace Bumbry has died in Vienna, Austria. She was 86.

Born on 4 January, 1937, in St. Louis, Missouri, Bumbry fell in love with music as a small child when she was taken to concerts of the American contralto Marian Anderson. At 16, she won first prize in a local radio contest, and this led to appearances on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scout Show.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Grace Bumbry. Photo from the artist’s collection

Bumbry made her debut in 1960 as Amneris in Aida with Opéra national de Paris, before being cast by Wieland Wagner as Venus in Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival the following year. She was the first black woman to perform at Bayreuth, and her history-making performance received a 30-minute ovation and 42 curtain calls.

In 1963, The Royal Opera House beckoned with the role of Princess Eboli in Don Carlos, while debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper and La Scala came the following year. In 1965, Bumbry gave her first performance at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Starting out as a mezzo-soprano, she...