Giacomo Meyerbeer

Marilyn Horne earned descriptions likening her voice to the keyboard artistry of Vladimir Horowitz and the violin mastery of Jascha Heifetz, while Opera News hailed her as "the greatest singer in the world" and the New York Times singled her out as "the most American of all operatic singers." Her dramatic range encompassed works from Gioachino Rossini through William Bolcom, spanning "Danny Boy" and George Handel's Rinaldo. Italian audiences credited her as the preeminent interpreter of Gioachino Rossini, and international listeners celebrated her command of bel canto alongside an exceptionally versatile approach. She built a reputation for championing and bringing fresh American compositions—both operatic and contemporary—to wider audiences.

Born January 16, 1934, in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Marilyn Horne launched her singing life at age two by performing around the family piano bench, then appeared at an FDR rally by age four. When she turned eleven her family relocated to Los Angeles, where she pursued vocal training at the University of Southern California and joined Lotte Lehmann's classes. Her initial public appearance came in 1954, supplying the dubbed voice of Dorothy Dandridge for the film Carmen Jones; that same year she made her Los Angeles stage debut as Hata in The Bartered Bride.

Igor Stravinsky recognized her gifts and launched her operatic path by engaging her for the 1956 Vienna festival. She stayed in Europe for three seasons with the Gelsenkirchen Opera before returning to the United States in 1964 to sing Marie in Berg's Wozzeck at the San Francisco Opera. Her closest artistic partnership formed with Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, beginning at Carnegie Hall in 1961 and reaching a memorable peak in their 1965 Boston performances of Rossini's Semiramide. That collaboration opened the door to her 1970 Metropolitan Opera debut. Over the years she appeared before multiple presidents, including at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.