Book Marilyn Horne

Marilyn Horne is the American mezzo-soprano celebrated for an agile, powerful voice that defined bel canto singing in her era. Trained at the University of Southern California, she studied voice with William Vennard and Gwendolyn Koldofsky. She became famous for roles that demand rich tone, deep breath control and dazzling coloratura, and she helped lead a revival of the bel canto operas of Rossini, Bellini and Handel. Her long partnership with soprano Joan Sutherland produced acclaimed performances and recordings, including Norma (1965). She also sang the voice of Carmen Jones for the 1954 film and recorded Carmen in 1973. Her many recordings include Tancredi (1985), Il trovatore (1986) and Beautiful Dreamer: The Great American Songbook (1986). Horne has won four Grammy Awards and received the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, France's Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (1995), the Gramophone Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005) and an International Opera Award (2023). She has also devoted herself to teaching, mentoring young singers through her foundation and her work at Oberlin College.