Marilyn Horne

Recognized for a voice likened to the pianism of Vladimir Horowitz and the violin artistry of Jascha Heifetz, Marilyn Horne earned the designation “the greatest singer in the world” from Opera News while the New York Times singled her out as “the most American of all operatic singers.” Her dramatic range spanned Gioachino Rossini to William Bolcom and embraced both “Danny Boy” and George Handel’s Rinaldo, establishing her in Italy as the definitive interpreter of Rossini and securing international acclaim for her command of bel canto and stylistic versatility. Throughout her career she devoted herself to fostering and championing new American works, whether contemporary pieces or operas.

Born January 16, 1934, in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Horne first sang around the family piano bench at the age of two and, at four, performed at an FDR rally. When she was eleven her parents relocated to Los Angeles, where she pursued vocal training at the University of Southern California and attended Lotte Lehmann’s master classes. Her initial public appearance came in 1954, supplying the dubbed singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge in the film Carmen Jones; later that same year she made her Los Angeles stage debut as Hata in The Bartered Bride.

Igor Stravinsky, impressed by her abilities, invited her to the 1956 Vienna festival, launching her operatic trajectory. She spent the next three seasons with the Gelsenkirchen Opera in Europe before returning to the United States in 1964 to sing Marie in Berg’s Wozzeck at the San Francisco Opera. Her most significant artistic partnership began in 1961 at Carnegie Hall with Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland and continued with their memorable 1965 Boston performances of Rossini’s Semiramide, a collaboration that directly precipitated Horne’s Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970.

She has sung at the inaugurations of several presidents, among them that of Bill Clinton.