June McMechen

June McMechen was a soprano and Broadway performer whose career included work both on stage and in the recording studio during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

McMechen appeared on Broadway in 1949 in Lost in the Stars, a production that stands among her verified stage credits. Her work during this period placed her within a community of performers active in the African American theatrical tradition on Broadway.

In 1951, McMechen took part in a landmark recording of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, singing the role of Clara. The album, conducted by Lehman Engel and produced under the Columbia Masterworks label with catalog number OSL 162, was recorded between April 5 and April 13, 1951. It was released on three twelve-inch 33⅓ rpm LPs and represented the first recording of the opera presented from beginning to end rather than as a collection of individual selections. Running approximately two hours and nine minutes, the album contained more than two-thirds of Gershwin's score. The recording was later remastered by Naxos Records and reissued on CD.

The cast assembled for the album included Lawrence Winters as Porgy, Camilla Williams as Bess, Avon Long as Sportin' Life, Inez Matthews as Serena, and Helen Dowdy as Maria, among others. Several members of the original Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess also participated in the recording. The project originated from the efforts of Engel and producer Goddard Lieberson, who sought to commit to disc the scores of Broadway productions that had not previously been fully recorded.