Delores Ivory Davis
Encyclopedia
Delores Ivory Davis is a mezzo soprano, known internationally for her performances in opera
, oratorio
, and performances with the Springfield (Mass.) Symphony, St. Paul Symphony, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra
. She has performed in the Broadway musical Porgy and Bess
as Serena and in the televised performance of Treemonisha
as Monisha alongside Obba Babatundé
.
in Detroit, Michigan
. She received her B.S. in Music Education from Wayne State University
.
In her college years, she won a number of National Vocal Competitions including the National Association of Negro Musicians, the National Usher Board Voice Competition, a John Hay Whitney Award, The Black Business Women's Association- Vocal Division, The National baptist Convention Scholarship Award, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant and the Drama Desk Award
for "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance in the Broadway
musical Porgy and Bess
for her role as Serena from the N.Y. Music Critics.
Ms. Davis made her debut at Carnegie Hall
in 1970 which won her critical acclaim. She has performed major oratorios in New York as a soloist with the New York Opera - Title III Program; was an Artist-in-Residence with the St. Paul Opera Company and has been a soloist at Radio City Music Hall
. Singing as Serena, Clara, and Bess, she has performed in the United States
, Israel
, New Zealand
, Australia
, Italy
, Switzerland
, France
, and Spain
.
She has studied with Ollie McFarland, Avery Crew, Celeste Cole, Edward Boatner
, Claire Gelda, Carolina Segrera Holden and David Nisstad. She was a soloist in the Brazeal Denard Chorale, The Michigan Opera Theatre, the Rackham Symphony Choir and at St. Matthews and St. Joseph's Episcopal Church. She was formerly a soloist at Christ Church and Conductor of the Plymouth Chorale.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
, and performances with the Springfield (Mass.) Symphony, St. Paul Symphony, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
. She has performed in the Broadway musical Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
as Serena and in the televised performance of Treemonisha
Treemonisha
Treemonisha is an opera composed by the famed African-American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Though it encompasses a wide range of musical styles other than ragtime, and Joplin did not refer to it as such, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "ragtime opera"...
as Monisha alongside Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatunde
Obba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
.
Biography
Davis was born on January 3, 1939 to Henry Ivory and Willa Mae Frazier Ivory, both musicians. She began her study of voice at the age of fourteen. She is a graduate of Cass Technical High SchoolCass Technical High School
The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. She received her B.S. in Music Education from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
.
In her college years, she won a number of National Vocal Competitions including the National Association of Negro Musicians, the National Usher Board Voice Competition, a John Hay Whitney Award, The Black Business Women's Association- Vocal Division, The National baptist Convention Scholarship Award, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Grant and the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
for her role as Serena from the N.Y. Music Critics.
Ms. Davis made her debut at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1970 which won her critical acclaim. She has performed major oratorios in New York as a soloist with the New York Opera - Title III Program; was an Artist-in-Residence with the St. Paul Opera Company and has been a soloist at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
. Singing as Serena, Clara, and Bess, she has performed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
She has studied with Ollie McFarland, Avery Crew, Celeste Cole, Edward Boatner
Edward Boatner
Edward Boatner was an African American composer who wrote many popular concert arrangements of Negro spirituals.-Biography:...
, Claire Gelda, Carolina Segrera Holden and David Nisstad. She was a soloist in the Brazeal Denard Chorale, The Michigan Opera Theatre, the Rackham Symphony Choir and at St. Matthews and St. Joseph's Episcopal Church. She was formerly a soloist at Christ Church and Conductor of the Plymouth Chorale.
Sources
- Carnovale, Norbert, George Gershwin: a bio-bibliography, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, pp. 69 and 71. ISBN 0313260036
- Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, The Negro in Michigan, 1969 p. 57
- Ping-Robbins, Nancy R., Scott Joplin: a guide to research, Routledge, 1998, p. 314. ISBN 0824083997
- Smith, Eric Ledell, Blacks in opera: an encyclopedia of people and companies, 1873-1993, McFarland, 1995, p 101. ISBN 0899508138