Marilyn Horne

Early life Marilyn Berneice Horne was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, one of the four children of Bentz and Berneice Horne. Her parents were both politicians, with her mother serving as city assessor of the Fifth Ward and her father appointed as McKean County assessor. Bentz was also a semi-professional singer and, noticing Marilyn's talent, sought to move the family to a place where she could have access to professional vocal training and more opportunities to perform. Marilyn and her sister Gloria were part of the St. Luke's Episcopal Church Quartet.

Education Marilyn Horne (left) performed as the second soprano of the Gesualdo Madrigalists, a five-person group formed by conductor Robert Craft (center) to explore the radical music of Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo. Other members included Grace-Lynne Martin (soprano), Charlie Scharbach (bass), Cora Lauridsen (alto), and Richard Robinson (tenor). Horne won a scholarship for the University of Southern California where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She studied voice under William Vennard and Gwendolyn Koldofsky at the University of Southern California School of Music and participated in Lotte Lehmann's vocal master classes at Music Academy of the West.

Career

Horne's first major professional engagement was in 1954, when she dubbed the singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge in the film Carmen Jones. Horne made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 as Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma with Sutherland in the title role. . She also sang on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Carol Burnett Show.

In 1983, she published (with co-writer Jane Scovell) a candid autobiography, My Life, and a continuation volume, Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues, appeared in 2004.

On July 5, 1986, she performed on the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC Television. The orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, performed in Central Park. She sang an aria from Carmen by Georges Bizet.

In January 1993, Horne sang "Make A Rainbow" by American singer and songwriter Portia Nelson, and the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.

Retirement Horne retired from the concert stage in 1999 with a recital at the Chicago Symphony Center. She still occasionally performs at pop concerts (especially with late Broadway star Barbara Cook). Horne has also established the Marilyn Horne Foundation to help preserve the art of vocal recitals. She teaches a series of annual Master Classes at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music; the University of Maryland, College Park; the Manhattan School of Music; and the University of Oklahoma.

From 1997 to 2018 Horne directed the Voice Program at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Since 2018 she holds the position of Honorary Voice Program Director. She was scheduled to teach and remain the head of the jury for the Marilyn Horne Song Competition through 2020.

Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center In 2013, Horne donated her personal archives to the University of Pittsburgh. The creation of the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center in the Pitt Bradford campus’ Seneca Building (now Marilyn Horne Hall) was partially made possible through a $3 million grant the McKean County Industrial Development Authority received from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program in 2013.

Since opening on May 6, 2017, the museum publicly displays a rotating portion of the collection at the regional campus in Bradford, from which she received an honorary degree in 2004. The museum is open seven days a week and admission is free.

Personal life Marilyn Horne and her husband Henry Lewis in 1961. Photo by Carl Van Vechten. Horne was married from 1960 to 1979 (separated 1974) to the conductor Henry Lewis whom she met in college at the University of Southern California. Her mother initially had misgivings that the interracial marriage would have a negative impact on Horne's career, saying, "Be his mistress, for God's sake, not his wife," but soon reconciled with them. They maintained a home in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles for many years. In 1965 the couple welcomed a daughter named Angela. After Horne's breakup with Lewis, she began a long-term relationship with Greek bass Nicola Zaccaria.

In December 2005, shortly before Horne's 72nd birthday, she was diagnosed with localized pancreatic cancer. In January 2007, she appeared at a public function for her Foundation. Interviewed by Norman Lebrecht on BBC Radio 3 on July 26, 2010, she spoke briefly about her cancer and cheerfully said, "I'm still here!"

Partial discography Beethoven: Ninth Symphony (M. Price, Vickers, Salminen; Zubin Mehta, 1983) [live] RCA Red Seal Bellini: Norma (Sutherland, J. Alexander, Cross; Richard Bonynge, 1964) Decca Bernstein: West Side Story (Te Kanawa, Troyanos, Carreras; Leonard Bernstein, 1984) Deutsche Grammophon. A television documentary was made about this studio recording. Berlioz: Les Troyens (Nicolai Gedda, Robert Massard, Robert Amis El Hage, Boris Carmeli, Veriano Luchetti, Carlo Gaifa, Rosina Cavicchiola, Marilyn Horne, Shirley Verrett, Giovanna Fioroni; Georges Prêtre, Arkadia1969) Bizet: Carmen (Maliponte, McCracken, Krause; Leonard Bernstein, 1972) Deutsche Grammophon Donizetti: Anna Bolena (Souliotis, J. Alexander, Ghiaurov; Silvio Varviso, 1968/69) Decca Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (Sutherland, Aragall, Wixell; Richard Bonynge, 1977) Decca Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Lorengar, Donath; Georg Solti, 1970) Decca

Handel: Rinaldo (Gasdia, Palacio, Weidinger; John Fisher, 1989) Nuova Era Handel: Semele (Battle, Ramey; John Nelson, 1990) Deutsche Grammophon Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (Lewis) Decca Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Mehta) Decca Mahler: Rückert-Lieder (Mehta) Decca Massenet: La Navarraise (Domingo, Milnes, Zaccaria; Henry Lewis, 1975) RCA Red Seal Meyerbeer: Le prophète (Scotto, McCracken, Hines; Henry Lewis, 1976) Sony Mozart: Don Giovanni (Sutherland, Lorengar, Krenn, Bacquier, Gramm; Richard Bonynge, 1968) Decca Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Tebaldi, Dominguez, Bergonzi, Merrill; Lamberto Gardelli, 1967) Decca Puccini: Suor Angelica (Scotto, Cotrubaș; Lorin Maazel, 1976) Sony Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Barbacini, Nucci, Dara, Ramey; Riccardo Chailly, 1982) Sony Rossini: Bianca e Falliero (Ricciarelli, Merritt; Donato Renzetti, 1986) [live] Fonit Cetra Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri (Battle, Ramey; Scimone, 1980) Erato/ RCA Red Seal Rossini: Semiramide (Sutherland, Rouleau; Richard Bonynge, 1965/66) Decca Rossini: Tancredi (Cuberli, Zaccaria; Ralf Weikert, 1982) Sony Roussel: Padmâvatî (Gedda, van Dam; Michel Plasson, 1982/83) EMI Thomas: Mignon (Welting, von Stade, Vanzo, Zaccaria; Antonio de Almeida, 1977) Sony. For details, see here Verdi: Falstaff (Sweet, Lopardo, Panerai, Titus; Colin Davis, 1991) RCA Red Seal Verdi: Requiem (Sutherland, Horne, Pavarotti, Talvela; Georg Solti, 1967) Decca Verdi: Il trovatore (Sutherland, Pavarotti, Wixell, Ghiaurov; Richard Bonynge, 1976) Decca Vivaldi: Orlando furioso (de los Ángeles, Valentini Terrani; Claudio Scimone, 1977) Erato

Abridged videography Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles (Stratas, Fleming; Levine, Graham, 1992) [live] Deutsche Grammophon Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri (M.Merritt, Ahlstedt; Levine, Ponnelle, 1986) [live] Deutsche Grammophon Rossini: Semiramide (Anderson, Ramey; Conlon, Copley, 1990) [live] Kultur Verdi: Falstaff (Freni, Bonney, Lopardo, Plishka; Levine, Zeffirelli, 1992) [live] Deutsche Grammophon Vivaldi: Orlando furioso (Behr, Pizzi, 1989) [live] Kultur

Awards and recognition Horne received many honors during her career. A New York Times article by Harold C. Schonberg, in celebration of the Met's 100th anniversary in 1983, listed the greatest singers who had ever performed at the house and included Horne, the only one still actively singing at the time. She was awarded Yale University's Sanford Medal. Most Promising New Classical Recording Artist, 1964, 7th Annual Grammy Awards Handel Medallion, 1980 Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance, 1981, 24th Annual Grammy Awards Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, 1995 Kennedy Center Honors, 1995 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, 2021