Amanda Aldridge was a British opera singer and composer whose parents were descendants of African-American-Scottish.
The Google Doodle honors Aldridge, who wrote under the pen name Montague Ring.
Aldridge is described by Google as an inspirational individual who showed “musical skill at an early age.”
What Ethnicity Is Amanda Aldridge?
Amanda Aldridge was an African-British Opera singer and teacher, who was also known as Montague Ring. She was born to her parents in Upper Norwood, London as a third child.
Her father was African-American actor Ira Frederick Aldridge, and her mother was his second wife, Swedish Amanda Brandt.
Aldridge recognized her mixed ethnic ancestry via the lens of music. It resulted in her blending many rhythmic influences and genres with poetry by Black American authors to produce romantic Parlour music.
Aldridge went on to study voice at the Royal College of Music under Jenny Lind and George Henschel before pursuing a career as a singer. She started as a vocalist at London’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
However, her career was cut short by a throat injury caused by laryngitis, but she made a reputation for herself as a teacher, pianist, and composer.
Her noteworthy students were lyric tenor Roland Hayes and composer Lawrence Benjamin Brown.
Aldridge was in the audience when Robeson played Othello in the West End in 1930, and she handed Robeson the gold earrings that her father, Ira Aldridge, had worn as Othello.
Aldridge also mentored vocalist Ida Shepley, converting her from a singer to a theatrical actor.
Meet Amanda Aldridge’s Parents, Ira Frederick And Amanda Brandt
Amanda Aldridge was the daughter of American-born, British actor Ira Frederick and his second partner, Amanda Barndt. He is well-known for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters.
The earliest Black American tragedians were James Hewlett and William Aldridge. Mr. Aldridge is a theatrical classic and a source of inspiration for many artists, including Denzel Washington, who played Macbeth in Joel Coen’s 2021 film The Tragedy of Macbeth.
He is the only performer of African-American heritage to be honored with a bronze plaque at Stratford-upon-Shakespeare Avon’s Memorial Theatre.
Furthermore, she has two sisters, Rachael and Luranah, and two brothers, Ira Daniel, and Ira Frederick. Luranah was also an opera singer who, long before Grace Bumbry, unofficially “broke the color barrier” for black opera singers in 1896.
In 1893, Sir Augustus Harris included Luranah in a Grand Wagner Orchestral Concert at St. James’s Hall. He also cast her as one of the Ring’s Valkyries.
In 1898 and 1905, she performed in Ring Cycles in London. She was a performer in London until the First World War when she got sick with rheumatism and stopped performing.
At that time, Aldridge cared for her sister, turning down an invitation to the second Pan-African Congress from W. E. B. Du Bois in 1921. She left the message explaining: “As you know, my sister is quite helpless. I cannot leave for more than a few minutes at a time.”
In 1932, Luranah committed suicide via an aspirin overdose.
Amanda Aldridge Was A British Opera Singer Who Died After An Illness
Amanda Aldridge, a British Opera Singer died on 9 March 1956 in London after a short illness. She was honored by Google today marking the day she performed at Queens Small Hall in London.
A piece of embellishment surrounds the focal picture, made from the treble and bass clefs of musical notation.
Amanda, at the age of 88, introduced herself to the new generation of music fans by participating on the British television show Music for You. A year later, one day before her 90th birthday, she died.