Throughout his career, Simon Estes has performed in 84 opera houses, appearing in 104 operatic roles with 115 orchestras around the world.
The internationally renowned opera singer was born in Centerville in 1938, the son of a coal miner and the grandson of an enslaved man.
Growing up in a small town in the 1940s and '50s, segregation and discrimination were the norm. During Estes' youth, there were many restaurants in Centerville where Black people couldn't dine. At the pool, Black people could only swim between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturdays, and after they got out, more disinfectant would be added to the water.
“Colored people lived in certain parts of Centerville, Iowa. I was born in a little house, 25 feet by 27 feet, if you can imagine that. No running water, no electricity and in a neighborhood that was very, very poor,” Estes said. “It was somewhat of an integrated neighborhood, which was unusual in that area at that time, but Centerville was like any other town in Iowa or the Midwest, where racial discrimination actually still existed.”
Despite the town's segregation, Estes discovered a love of music, starting at a young age, through his mother and the church. When he was in junior high, the high school choir director asked the principal if Estes could come over and sing in the high school choir. He was a soprano until his voice dropped senior year.
Thinking his chances of a music career were over after his voice changed, Estes enrolled in the University of Iowa on the pre-med track, then switched to psychology. But he couldn’t stay away from music.
Charles Kellis, a UI music professor and lifelong mentor of Estes, first heard Estes singing as a freshman.
“I heard him through the closed door of North Hall, and he impressed me with a certain element of penetration that came through the door,” Kellis said in the documentary Simon Estes: A Heart and A Voice.
Kellis told Estes he had a voice to sing opera, which Estes wasn’t familiar with. When Kellis played the music for him, the young student said, “I like that stuff.”
“I believe God sent Charles Kellis to the University of Iowa to discover me, the talent that God had given to me,” Estes said. “Because I didn't know anything about classical music, so Mr. Kellis worked with me for two years, and he was the greatest teacher in the world for me."
Music is truly the international language of the world.Simon Estes
Kellis arranged for Estes to audition for the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, where he was accepted.
While at Juilliard, he had the opportunity to audition for a German opera company, but he didn’t have the money to make the trip. When he went to the NAACP office in New York to ask for financial assistance, at first they said they didn’t have the money for things like that.
“I said, ‘Well, I'm a student at Juilliard School of Music,’” Estes said, recounting his conversation with the receptionist. “She said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Juilliard School of Music,’ and the whole atmosphere changed.”
Even though they didn’t have the budget for it, the staff took up a collection in the office, raising $287 and sending him to the New York Community Trust Fund for the rest.
After the audition, he was sent to West Berlin, which launched his European career.
In 1978, Estes performed the leading role in The Flying Dutchman at the prestigious Bayreuth Festival in Germany. It was the first time a Black man performed a leading role at the festival, a role he went on to perform more than 400 times.
Despite performing at the finest opera houses in Europe, when he came back to America he was paid one tenth of what his peers were making for the same work. Additionally, New York's Metropolitan Opera was resistant to hire him.
Still, he never became bitter, instead using his fame and strong faith to help young people develop their talent and find their path. Through his “Roots and Wings” tour, he’s awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to students in over 54 Iowa counties. He also established the Simon Estes Educational Foundation in Oklahoma in 1983, which awards merit-based college scholarships. His humanitarian efforts stretch globally as well, including the Simon Estes International Foundation for Children in Switzerland, the Simon Estes School in South Africa, and his work with the United Nations Foundation to raise money to combat malaria in Africa.
Here in Iowa, his legacy is enshrined at the Simon Estes Amphitheater in Des Moines, the Simon Estes Music Hall at Iowa State University and the Simon Estes School of Fine Arts at Des Moines Area Community College.
“Music is a great avenue, and acting and drama is so important because music is truly the international language of the world ... music is the foundation, I think, of love," Estes said.
