marian anderson was the first black aamerican to appear there. she played the role of ulrica in "a masked ball". anderson's appearance was mostly symbolic, she was already past her prime as a singer, and she had made her succcess on the concert stage. in her first performance, she received a ten minutes ovation. the moment was considered momentous enough at the time to warrant a front page at the new york times story.
the singer wore an iridescent peasant blouse adorned with several beaded necklaces. the lights illuminated her features from below, creating an aura of mysticism and darkening her expression in shadow. then, marian sang. when she hit the “a” note, she held it, and i knew that all doubts about her skill must have melted away with that note.