Martina Arroyo

Martina Arroyo was an American soprano raised in Harlem who won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air in 1958. Her breakthrough came when she stepped into the title role of Verdi's Aida at the Met, and she went on to sing at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Paris Opera and Teatro Colón. She retired from the stage in 1989 and founded the Martina Arroyo Foundation in 2003 to train young singers. She received the NEA Opera Honors in 2010 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013. She died at her home in Manhattan on October 13, according to The New York Times.