Todd Duncan

A singer, actor, and teacher, Todd Duncan is best remembered for originating the role of Porgy in America’s most popular opera, Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS, introducing the world to immortal numbers such as "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" and "I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin." In 1931, he was appointed Professor of Voice at Howard University in Washington (a post he held until 1945), and began his operatic career three years later in a production of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. In 1938, Duncan starred in a West End production of THE SUN NEVER SETS, before returning to Broadway in the '40s in the musicals CABIN IN THE SKY and LOST IN THE STARS. Duncan became the first black artist to appear at the New York City Opera, when he sang the role of Tonio in Leoncavallo’s PAGLIACCI.