Much has been said about Karajan's association with the Nazis, and this fact has blighted his legacy ever since. It was like a scarlet letter hanging around his neck. But paradoxically, he was instrumental in pushing the careers of professional black singers in opera as well: Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, Grace Bumbry and Cole Porter (that is as far as I know). Perhaps this was his way of making amends with the past, in the same manner that the heirs of Richard Wagner make it a point to invite Jewish conductors to perform at Bayreuth. Maybe so, but it seems to me that he did this out of artistic integrity rather than personal magnanimity. The artists mentioned are of supreme excellence, you can hardly fault Karajan for his choices.
Here's an example of that, Karajan conducting at La Scala, with Leontyne Price singing the finale, "Libera me (Deliver us O Lord)" from Verdi's Manzoni Requiem. Price fearfully paints a fiery picture of The Last Judgment, her voice scales the depths of hell with terrifying reality, and ascends the heavens with angelic, sustained pianissimi that floats above the the turmoil and violence in the chorus and the orchestra. Her interpretation remains unmatched.
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