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{{short description|American opera singer}}

[[Image:Ruby Elzy (1935).jpg|thumb|right|Ruby Elzy in 1935. Photo by [[Carl Van Vechten]].]]

'''Ruby Pearl Elzy''' (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943) was an American [[opera]]tic [[soprano]]. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor.

==Family and early life==
Elzy was born in [[Pontotoc, Mississippi]], and educated at [[Rust College]], the [[Ohio State University]] (graduating in 1930) and the [[Juilliard School]] (graduating in 1934). At Juilliard she was a pupil of [[Lucia Dunham]]. Her sister [[Amanda Elzy]] (died 2004) was a prominent educator after whom [[Amanda Elzy High School]] in [[Greenwood, Mississippi]] is named.<ref name=weaver>{{cite book|last1=Weaver|first1=David E|title=Black Diva of the Thirties: the life of Ruby Elzy|date=2004|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=9781604737653|accessdate=9 February 2015 | url=https://archive.org/details/blackdivaofthirt0000weav |url-access=registration|quote=amanda ruby elzy school.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/blackdivaofthirt0000weav/page/191 191]–192}}</ref> Their mother Emma Elzy (died 1985, aged 98) was a teacher and prominent member of the Methodist church, in whose memory the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church presents an annual Emma K. Elzy award.<ref>{{cite web|title=Awards: Emma K. Elzy Award|url=http://www.mississippi-umc.org/awards|publisher=Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church|accessdate=9 February 2015}}</ref> Ruby had two sisters, Amanda and Beatrice Wayne and one brother, Robert. Their father Charlie abandoned the family when Ruby was five.

==Professional accomplishments==
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]'s luncheon for the wives of [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] Justices. She appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the musical ''[[John Henry (play)|John Henry]]'', in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with [[Paul Robeson]] in the 1933 film ''[[The Emperor Jones (1933 film)|The Emperor Jones]]'', and also with [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Mary Martin]] in ''[[Birth of the Blues]]'', though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at [[Harlem]]'s [[Apollo Theater]] and in the [[Hollywood Bowl]].

Elzy created the role of Serena in [[George Gershwin]]'s folk opera ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' and performed in it more than eight hundred times.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ruby Elzy: A Mississippi Jewel {{!}} Mississippi History Now|url=http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/16/ruby-elzy-a-mississippi-jewel|access-date=2021-09-12|website=www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov}}</ref> Serena sings the heart-wrenching soprano [[aria]] and lament "[[My Man's Gone Now]]" after her husband Robbin is murdered during a game of [[craps]]. But fellow cast member and lead soprano [[Anne Brown]] (who occupied the role of Bess) and not Elzy is actually heard singing the aria on the 1940 original cast album of selections from ''Porgy and Bess.'' Fortunately, Elzy sang the demanding aria on the 1937 CD release of the ''[[Gershwin Memorial Concert]]'' that took place at the Hollywood Bowl three months after the composer's death .

==Legacy==
In 1940, she was chosen by composer [[Harold Arlen]] to record the world premiere of his original suite of Negro spirituals, "Reverend Johnson's Dream", which would be her only commercial recording. During the same year Ruby married [[Jack Carr (actor)|Jack Carr]], an actor/singer who appeared on stage with her in "Porgy and Bess". The marriage lasted until her death.

Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. Just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream—to star in the title role of [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[Aida]]''—and one week after her final performance as Serena, Ruby Elzy died in Detroit following surgery to remove a benign tumor. She was 35 years old.

In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled ''Ruby Elzy in Song,'' was released on the Cambria label.

==Selected filmography==
*''[[The Emperor Jones (1933 film)|The Emperor Jones]]'' (1933) as Dolly
*''[[Birth of the Blues]]'' (1941)

==References==
{{reflist}}

* David E. Weaver, ''Black Diva of the Thirties: The Life of Ruby Elzy'', University Press of Mississippi, September 2004.
* "The Sweet Sound of Ruby Elzy", review of CD ''Ruby Elzy in Song'' by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic [[Lloyd Schwartz]] on [[NPR]]'s ''[[Fresh Air]],'' [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11510015 broadcast 28 June 2007:]

==External links==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elzy, Ruby}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Pontotoc, Mississippi]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women opera singers]]
[[Category:African-American women opera singers]]
[[Category:American operatic sopranos]]
[[Category:Singers from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:Rust College alumni]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Michigan]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from Mississippi]]

Ruby Elzy - Revision history

imported>Charlie Rrose Selavy: adding link to Wiki entry for the dice game of craps