ROBERT TODD DUCAN
(February 12, 1903 – February 28, 1998)
OPERA SINGER, ACTOR, PROFESSOR
In 1945, he became the first African American to sing with a major opera company, and the first black person to sing in an opera with an otherwise white cast, when he performed the role of Tonio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with the New York City Opera. In the same year he sang the role of Escamillo, the bullfighter, in Bizet’s Carmen. In 1955, Duncan was the first to record “Unchained Melody”, a popular song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret.
The recording was made for the soundtrack of the obscure prison film Unchained, in which Duncan also played a minor character. Following Duncan’s version, the song went on to become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.