Breath and Imagination: The Rediscovery of Roland Hayes
Breath and Imagination is a musical, composed and written by Daniel Beaty, largely based on the life of Roland Hayes, the first African American to achieve international fame on the concert stage. Born in Georgia in 1887 on a plantation where his mother had been a slave, he grew up in poverty. After his father’s untimely death, Hayes left school to help support his mother, Angel Mo’ (short for Angel Mother). What set Roland Hayes apart was his beautiful tenor voice. …