Guide to the Marie A. Young Papers, circa 1950s-1990, 2019 SPEC.TRI.0124 Finding aid prepared by Sierra McGee Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2026 January This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-01-16T14:33-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Marie A. Young Papers SPEC.TRI.0124 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 1.3 Cubic feet circa 1950s-1990, 2019 Marie A. Young (1918-2006) was an African American soprano who sang in the ensemble of the Porgy and Bess European tour in 1955 and 1956. She retired from the New York City Opera in 1990. The Marie A. Young Papers, dated circa 1950s-1990, 2019, contain four scrapbooks, a postcard book, a photograph, and supplemental information from a 2019 that highlights Marie Young's career with the New York City Opera and her performances in Porgy and Bess. (4) flat boxes; (2) letter file folders; (1) oversize folder English, German, Russian, French, Italian Young, Marie A. Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged in chronological order.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. TRI.2025.0055: Anthea deForest, 2021 September

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Marie A. Young Papers, SPEC.TRI.0124, Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

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Processed by: Sierra McGee, 2026 January; Finding aid written by: Sierra McGee, 2026 January

 Historical Note

Marie A. Young (1918-2006) was an African American soprano who sang in the ensemble of the Porgy and Bess European tour in 1955 and 1956. In 1965, the New York City Opera did a revival of Porgy and Bess and Young was cast in the role of Clara. She was a member of the New York City Opera for 27 years and was involved in many operas after Porgy and Bess including: Julius Ceasar, Manon, Madame Butterfly, Roberto Deveraux, and Lucia di Lammermoor. She retired from the New York City Opera in 1990.

Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera created by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward. The cast of Porgy and Bess were African American opera singers. Porgy and Bess was first performed in Boston in 1935 before it was moved to Broadway in New York City.

In the 1950s, the United States Department of State financed a European tour of Porgy and Bess in order to promote western culture during the Cold War. The Porgy and Bess tour ensemble performed in Soviet Russia, Germany, Italy, England, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. Later tour locations included the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

 Scope and Contents

The Marie A. Young Papers, dated circa 1950s-1990, 2019, contain four scrapbooks, a postcard book, a photograph, and a binder that highlights Marie Young's career with the New York City Opera and her performance in Porgy and Bess. Two scrapbooks contain photographs and newspaper clippings from the 1955-1956 European tour of Porgy and Bess. These two scrapbooks present how an all African-American opera cast were received culturally and politically as they toured Soviet Russia, a divided Germany, and other European countries during the Cold War. Two other scrapbooks, dating 1963-1990, contain photographs from Young’s career as an opera singer for the New York City Opera. A black and white photograph of performers in costume is dated circa 1950s. It is not known what production this photograph is from. Also included is information about the 2019 performance of Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera and pictures of opera singer Angel Blue receiving a pin that was given to Marie Young during the 1955-1956 tour of Porgy and Bess.

 Metropolitan Opera (New York, N.Y.) New York City Opera Young, Marie A. African American women singers--New York (State)--New York--20th century Black-and-white photographs Cultural relations--Europe--20th century Opera--New York (State)--New York--20th century Opera--New York (State)--New York--21st century Opera--Performance--Europe--20th century Opera--Performance--New York (State)--New York--20th century Opera--Performance--New York (State)--New York--21st century Porgy and Bess (Opera) Scrapbooks Tourism--Europe--20th century Photograph of an unknown production TRI Shared 5 circa 1950s #1 "Porgy and Bess" tour of Europe scrapbook 1 1955-1956 #2 "Porgy and Bess" tour of Europe scrapbook 2 1955-1956 Postcard book from Lenigrad, Russia TRI Shared 10 1 1956 #3 New York City Opera scrapbook 3 1963-1990 #4 New York City Opera scrapbook 4 1963-1990 "Porgy and Bess" Metropolitan Opera binder TRI Shared 10 2 2019