Memories of Todd Duncan



February 12, 1903 - February 28, 1998



I studied with Mr. Duncan at Curtis for two years, 1979-1981. He would come up to Phily for Saturday lessons 3x a month (my lesson was at 9 frigging a.m.!) and we’d go to DC once a month. His studio was in a lower level of his house. Once, I asked him if I could have a glass of water. He said I could go upstairs to the kitchen. Being a Southerner myself, I looked to see if he kept water in the refrigerator. I found it, poured a tall glass and took a big water-ful gulp of gin martini.

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Gérard Souzay coached Rorem’s War Scenes with Mr. Duncan. He asked Souzay to drop his jaw. Souzay said he couldn’t thAt, as a child, he had been kicked in the jaw by a donkey.

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I prepared the huge baritone part in Delius' Mass of Life with him. He had actually sung this rarely-performed work in Washington and he said he really had to do some soul-searching due to racist subject matter.

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Like Warren studying Lohengrin, Mr. Duncan told me he studied Otello. I heard him once demonstrate a high Bb for a tenor.

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He told me he studied once with a Dr. Lippy, whom I think was a teacher of John Charles Thomas.

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He told me that his pupil, Richard Crittendon, was the finest singer of spirituals he ever heard.

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One time, a singer auditioned for him and he asked her about her past teachers. She told him that she had actually been studying with him. He asked”What do you mean?”. She said she had been listening to the tapes of the lessons with another student for years. Needless to say, she continued to look for a voice teacher and he then never allowed students to record their lessons.

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I don't remember how this story came about in our many conversations, but I’ll write it as if it’s a direct quote, in 1st person.

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"I found out that RCA wanted to make a record of me and I was so excited. I rented Town Hall on a Friday afternoon. I sang a number of things, arias, songs, spirituals. They loved my singing and told me there would be a board meeting on Monday and for me to come to their office on Tuesday to sign the contract. I arrived on Tuesday and, you know, we black people have antennae and know when something is wrong. Well, I knew something was wrong. The man kept avoiding the subject and finally told me 'Mr. Duncan, our board feels that one black artist on our roster is enough.' I felt like walking in front of a bus."