The first black to perform with an American opera company was Caterina Jarboro, who was featured in a Chicago Opera Company production of Aida at the New York Hippodrome on July 22, 1933. She also sang the title role of the opera in Milan, Italy, in May, 1930. La Julia Rhea sang the role of Aida in a major production of the Chicago Opera on December 26, 1937.
