Raoul Abdul, longtime classical music columnist for the Amsterdam News, was a concert vocalist, author, voice teacher, and literary assistant to Langston Hughes. Our jazz columnist Ronald E. Scott gave an eloquent tribute to Abdul in a column last year, when discussing the Met Opera’s pioneering production of Terence Blanchard’s “Champion” during its 2022–23 season. Scott’s words about Adbul are comprehensive and heartfelt, and we include them here. – Amsterdam News Managing Editor Kristin Fayne-Mulroy
“This piece about ‘Champion’ is dedicated to the classical music critic for the New York Amsterdam News Raoul Abdul, whose column was titled ‘Reading the Score.’ Abdul was a concert baritone and German lieder expert who studied voice with William Warfield and Marian Anderson. He founded Coffehouse Concerts in Harlem and performed at Carnegie Hall and in Europe. Abdul served as Langston Hughes’s literary assistant from 1961 until Hughes’s death in 1967.
“During his years with the Amsterdam News, Abdul covered classical music and opera performed by prominent singers and composers such as William Grant Still, soprano Camilla Williams, and baritone Simon Estes among the many classical/opera artists who performed in his Coffee House series. He probably covered Leontyne Price’s inaugural performance for the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House in 1966. He promoted and shared his knowledge of opera music for years and was well aware that a Black audience existed and was agitated over the fact that major opera houses in NYC and around the country were not more inclusive….
Abdul would have rejoiced as the Met has finally become more inclusive and welcomed its first Black composer, Terence Blanchard, after over 130 years. Thank you, Abdul, for keeping the legacy of opera alive in the Black community and around the world (1929–2010).
“‘Be satisfied to serve art without regard for financial rewards—they will come in time,” said Abdul in an interview some years ago.’”
Like this:
Like Loading…
