1892: The Black Opera Company That Changed American Music—Then Vanished" In 1892, the Oriental Opera Company became the nation's first all-African American classical opera ensemble—proving that Black artists could master European operatic traditions while white institutions kept them locked out. Led by 19-year-old prodigy John Rosamond Johnson, the company performed Verdi's greatest works and toured America and Europe. But the company vanished, its pioneers erased from history. This is the story