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Annabelle Bernard went from McDonogh 35 to opera stardom [1]

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Date: 2025-06-23

With a “creamy” soprano opera voice, Annabelle Bernard broke racial barriers at home and abroad during her career that spanned more than four decades.

Bernard “was a young lady who never imagined she would one day become a shining star in the international world of opera,” the Creole Genealogical and Historical Association (CreoleGen) states. “Over the years, she sang for celebrated conductors throughout Europe, performed for Pope Paul VI at the Vatican and appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.”

Born in 1934 in New Orleans, Bernard began singing at Fisk Elementary and at Fourth Baptist Church. Edwin Hogan was her first voice teacher at McDonogh 35 High School. According to the Amistad Research Center, Hogan helped Benard get an audition with Sister Mary Elise Sisson, Music Department chair at Xavier University. The audition earned Bernard a four-year scholarship.

Annabelle Bermard in “Manon Lescout,” Act IV, during the Nov. 4, 1961 premiere. Credit: Heidelberg-Rohrbach, Kirschartensir, Annabelle Bernard Papers, Amistad Research Center

At Xavier, Bernard performed in campus operas and concerts. After graduating in 1956, she attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Two years later, she earned a Master of Arts degree and an artists’ degree, as well as the Eleanor Stebert Award and the Fran Huntington BeeBee Scholarship to study in Europe.

Bernard started her career at the Berlin Opera in 1962 with the lead role in “Aida.” She was the first Black woman to be hired as a major opera ensemble cast member. She continued to perform in leading roles with the Berlin Opera for 40 years.

In 1976, Bernard starred in “Andrea Chenier,” becoming the first Black lead singer with the New Orleans Opera Association. She stopped performing in 2000, returning to Xavier to teach voice. She died in 2005.

“I came back because New Orleans is my home and Xavier is my school,” Bernard said in 1999. “Without them, I would not have had the foundation for my future life.”

For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.

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