Edward Matthews was a pioneering African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 opera singer. In 1934, he created the role of "Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

" in Thomson's

Virgil Thomson

Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...

  Four Saints in Three Acts

Four Saints in Three Acts

Four Saints in Three Acts is an opera by American composer Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Written in 1927-8, it contains about 20 saints, and is in at least four acts...

, which he reprised in the 1952 revival of the opera - his last appearance on Broadway. In 1935, he created his most famous role - Jake, the fisherman, in the original 1935 production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...

. Here, he introduced the song A Woman Is a Sometime Thing. He recreated the role in the 1942 revival of the opera, and in the 1951 3-LP album set - the most complete recording of Porgy and Bess made up to that time.

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