Leonora Gwendolyn Lafayette (born July 8, 1926, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; died October 23, 1975) was an African American soprano with a significant career in Europe during the 1950s and 1960s.
In the 1930s, she grew up in a progressive and cohesive African American community known as "Old South Baton Rouge."
[3] In her early career in Switzerland, Lafayette won the Geneva Competition and debuted at Theater Basel on May 27, 1951, as Aida, a role she performed hundreds of times along with Madama Butterfly.
She was the first Black artist to perform at Covent Garden, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.
[4] She performed at the Vienna State Opera on September 18, 1956, as Aida, and on February 11 and 14, 1958, as Madama Butterfly.