Edward Matthews

Edward Matthews (1904–1954) was a pioneering African-American opera singer. In 1934, he created the role of "Ignatius of Loyola" in Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts, which he reprised in the 1952 revival of the opera - his last appearance on Broadway. In 1935, he created his most famous role - Jake the fisherman, in the original 1935 production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Here, Matthews introduced the song "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing". He recreated the role in the 1942 revival of the opera, and in the 1951 three-LP album set - the most complete recording of Porgy and Bess made up to that time.