Annabelle Bernard

Annabelle Bernard (1934–2005) was an American operatic soprano who performed with the Deutsche Oper Berlin for approximately 40 years. Upon being hired by the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1962, Bernard became the first black woman to be hired as a member of a major opera ensemble cast. She subsequently had many significant singing roles with the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Bernard began singing in public at a young age initially as a student at Fisk Elementary School and at the Fourth Baptist Church in New Orleans. Her formal training as a singer started at McDonough 35 High School in New Orleans with Edwin Hogan who was the voice teacher at the high school. Hogan arranged for Bernard to audition for Sister Mary Elise Sisson, SBS, who was the chairperson of the Department of Music at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Following her audition with Sisson, Bernard received an academic scholarship to enroll at Xavier University. She was a student there from 1952 to 1956, all the while training under Sisson. Sisson was herself an opera singer and had been establishing an opera training program at Xavier University that also included operatic mezzo-soprano Débria Brown. During Bernard's time at Xavier and continuing through her early career, Edith Rosenwald Stern became her patron.

The February 1, 1962, issue of Jet magazine referred to Bernard as the "newest negro opera star."

In 1972 Bernard taught voice at the Hambourg Conservatory of Music. During her professional career in Germany, she married opera singer Karl-Ernst Mercker. She continued to use her birth name for her professional career.

Awards and recognition

In 1970 Bernard received the German honorific title Kammersängerin in recognition of her operatic accomplishments.

In 2002, Bernard received the "Lift Every Voice" Legacy Award from the National Opera Association.

Subsequent to Bernard's death, Tulane University established the Clara del Marmol and Annabelle Bernard Fund, which sponsors a vocal concert series honoring Bernard and musicologist Clara del Marmol.