He had perfect pitch and a baritone of extraordinary beauty. Paul Robson's first solo concert took place in 1925 and brought the singer tremendous success. The enthusiastic listeners were captivated by the sincerity, the fullness of the feelings conveyed to them and the unique manner of performance.
From the biography of Paul Robson
Singer and film actor, lawyer and athlete, fighter for the rights of black Americans Paul Robson was born on April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. His father was a priest, his mother taught at the school. The family tried to give the boy a good education. After leaving school, Paul quickly gained popularity at Rutgers College, where he became the third black student in the history of the institution. He was one of the best students and played excellent football.
In 1923, Robson successfully graduated from the prestigious Columbia University Law School. However, he was of little interest to work in the law firm where Paul entered. Robson dreamed of becoming a theater actor. He was attracted by creativity.
Paul Robson: on his way to the top of his career
The first fame came to Paul after playing the main role in the production of Othello in 1930.
Paul Robson loved to perform Negro folk songs. He possessed perfect pitch and incomparable baritone bass. The first solo concert of a Negro performer took place back in 1925. The simplicity of the performing manner amazed the audience. He was predicted a great success in the future. Over time, Robson's repertoire became very extensive: he performed songs in five languages and was able to convey the shades of the national flavor of each composition.
Robson also tried his hand at the role of a film actor. In the 30s and 40s, he starred in the films Emperor Jones, The Mines of King Solomon, A Song of Freedom, Tales of Manhattan, and Proud Valley. In 1931, Robson met the Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein in New York. In 1934, an American singer and actor visits the Soviet Union.
Robson as a public figure
Two years later, Paul went to Spain with concerts. Here he realized that the fight against the fascist plague should become the main thing for the peoples of the world. Upon his return to the United States, Paul gives lectures in which he talks in color about his trips to the Soviet Union and Spain. His concert activity is filled with journalistic content.
Since the beginning of World War II, Robson is actively involved in organizing assistance to the Soviet people in the fight against Nazism. Paul was among those who called on the government of his country to immediately open a second front. For his active social activities, Robson was awarded the Abraham Lincoln Medal and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Medal.
In 1949, Robson, being a supporter of friendship and cooperation between the USSR and the United States, once again visited the Soviet Union. A year later, when the fire of McCarthyism began to flare up in the singer's homeland, a commission investigating anti-American activities prohibited Robson from touring outside the United States. He was considered a propagandist of the ideas of communism. At the same time, Paul was awarded the Peace Prize for Song of the Year.
In 1953, the American performer won the Stalin Prize. This is how his contribution to the strengthening of peace and friendship between peoples was assessed. In 1958 Robson became an honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory.
Last years
Robson made his last concert programs in 1960, visiting Australia and New Zealand. After 1963, the singer did not perform in public, but continued to engage in social activities.
The singer was happily married. But his wife died in 1965 from serious heart disease. For Robson, this loss was a strong blow..
The great American singer and public figure passed away on January 23, 1976.
