Mattiwilda Dobbs

Mattiwilda Dobbs (July 11, 1925 – December 8, 2015) was an African-American coloratura soprano. She was one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera. After winning the International Music Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1951, she made her professional operatic debut at the Holland Festival, as the Nightingale in Stravinsky's "The Nightingale", in 1952.
Dobbs died on December 8, 2015 at her home in Atlanta, Georgia of cancer of unknown primary origin at the age of 90.