Soprano Martina Arroyo dies at age 90

Renowned American soprano Martina Arroyo has died at her home in Manhattan at the age of 90. Born in Harlem, Arroyo became one of the most significant African-American opera singers of the 1960s and 1970s, alongside peers such as Leontyne Price and Grace Bumbry.

Arroyo achieved a major career breakthrough in 1965 when she was called to replace Birgit Nilsson as Aida at the Metropolitan Opera on just two days' notice. She went on to perform the role approximately 200 times at the Met between 1959 and 1986. Her international career included successful tenures at the Zurich Opera House, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Vienna State Opera.

Throughout her career, she collaborated with legendary conductors including Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, and Riccardo Muti. Following her retirement from the stage in 1989, she worked as a voice teacher. Her honors included election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and receiving the Kennedy Prize.