Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1989-09-15
Duration: 00:03:33

Subject: African American musicians
People: Adkins, Paul Spencer; Hayes, Roland; Jones, Marcus;

Clip Description
Marcus Jones reports that Paul Spencer Adkins (opera singer) will be performing the lead male role in the Boston Lyric Opera Company's production of Tosca. Jones reports that Adkins is one of the few African American tenors performing in operas. Jones interviews Adkins. Adkins says that there have been few African American romantic leads in opera; he says that he wants more African Americans to enter classical music. Adkins talks about his admiration for Roland Hayes (classical singer), who lived in Brookline. Jones notes that Adkins is working on a documentary about Hayes. Jones' report includes footage of Adkins performing in Tosca and footage of Roland Hayes.

Series Description
A local program aimed at the Boston audience, The Ten O'Clock News debuted on January 15, 1976. Its two immediate predecessors were The Reporters and Evening Compass. A news and public affairs show focusing on neighborhood, local and state issues, The Reporters was produced and broadcast on WGBH from 1970 to 1973. The Reporters was then replaced by Evening Compass, which expanded into a twice-nightly news broadcast during the tense moments of Boston's busing crisis. On the air from 1973 to 1975, Evening Compass found an audience through its in-depth coverage of school desegregation in Boston, which began in 1974. The Ten O'Clock News stood out as an in-depth news program. It strove for a balance between local and national stories, between politics and the Arts. The last The Ten O'Clock News program was broadcast on May 30, 1991.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/6763_02