Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts (1992) and the Kennedy Center Honors (1995). She has won four Grammy Awards.
[on soprano Simone Osborne] Make no mistake, Simone is half athlete and half artist - which you need to be if you want to be an opera star. There's no question about her big talent. I first heard her sing a gorgeous aria from 'The Bartered Bride' in 2007 and, at the end if it, I was sitting with tears in my eyes. She understands that voices need to be brilliant, dark and bright, all at once. She embodies the term 'chiaroscuro'.
She teaches voice at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California since 1997. [January 2009]
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Mother of Angela Lewis and grandmother of three grandchildren.
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As a young singer, just getting her start, Horne recorded several albums for various small Los Angeles-area labels under the name Jackie Horne (her off-stage nickname). At a time when arrangements were not subject to copyright, as they are now, she recorded several very good sound-alike versions of other singers' hits at bargain prices during the 1950s.
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As a teenager, Horne dubbed in the singing for Dorothy Dandridge's title character in Otto Preminger's film of Carmen Jones (1954). Less than two decades later, she would be acknowledged as one of the foremost Carmens of her time in the title role of the Bizet opera from which the stage and film versions of "Carmen Jones" were adapted.
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She received an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts in May 2006.
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She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1992 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
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She is an opera singer.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Metropolitan Opera Presents
1986-1992
TV Series
Mrs. Quickley / Arsace / Isabella
The Ghosts of Versailles
1992
TV Movie
Samila
Die Fledermaus
1990
TV Movie
Party's Guest singer
Orlando furioso
1990
TV Movie
Orlando
Hommage à Rossini
1985
TV Special
Mezzo-soprano
Concierto barroco
1982
TV Movie
Montezuma (voice)
Tancrède
1981
TV Movie
Tancrède
Live from Lincoln Center
1981
TV Series
Semiramis
1980
TV Movie
Arsace
The Odd Couple
1974
TV Series
Jackie Hartman
Flower Drum Song
1961
Helen Chao (singing voice, uncredited)
Carmen Jones
1954
Carmen Jones (voice, as Marilynn Horne)
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
1999
TV Movie performer: "Dat's Love"
Strange Days
1995
performer: "Contro Un Cor Che Accende Amore"
Hommage à Rossini
1985
TV Special performer: "In si barbara sciagura", "Questo è un nodo avviluppato", "Canzonetta Spagnuola - En medio a mis colores", "Prière Preghiera: Dal tuo stellato soglio", "Lasciami non t'ascolto", "Va sossopra il mio cervello"
The Odd Couple
1974
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Festival of Arts
1965
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Flower Drum Song
1961
performer: "Love, Look Away"
Carmen Jones
1954
performer: "DAT'S LOVE", "YOU GO FOR ME", "DERE'S A CAFE ON DE CORNER", "WHIZZIN' AWAY ALONG DE TRACK", "THERE'S A MAN I'M CRAZY FOR", "CARD SONG", "FINAL DUET", "STRING ME HIGH ON A TREE" - as Marilynn Horne
Music Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Song of the Lark
2001
TV Movie consultant: vocals
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Caballé, más allá de la música
2003
Documentary
Herself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts
2001
TV Special
Herself
Sesame Street
1995-1998
TV Series
Herself
Late Show with David Letterman
1994-1997
TV Series
Herself
Great Performances
1997
TV Series
Mezzo Soprano
The Metropolitan Opera Presents
1996
TV Series
Herself
Marvin Hamlisch & the Pittsburgh Pops
1996
TV Special
Herself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts
1995
TV Special
Herself - Honoree
The South Bank Show
1994
TV Series documentary
Herself
Wheel of Fortune
1994
TV Series
Herself - Celebrity Contestant
The King and I: Recording a Hollywood Dream
1993
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Carnegie Hall at 100: A Place of Dreams
1991
Video documentary
Herself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts
1990
TV Special
Herself
CBS This Morning
1990
TV Series
Herself
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1988
TV Special
Herself
Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration
1988
TV Special
Herself
Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening
1987
TV Movie
Herself
A Musical Toast: The Stars Shine on Public Television
1987
TV Movie
Herself
Liberty Weekend
1986
TV Special documentary
Herself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1971-1984
TV Series
Herself / Herself - Guest
The Metropolitan Opera: Centennial Gala
1983
TV Special
Mezzo-soprano
Live from Lincoln Center
1979-1983
TV Series
Herself (mezzo soprano) / Herself
Price/Horne Met Gala Concert
1982
TV Special
Mezzo Soprano
The First 100 Years of Recorded Music
1981
TV Special
Herself
Gala of Stars 1981
1981
TV Movie
Herself
The Carol Burnett Show
1968-1971
TV Series
Herself
The Jim Nabors Hour
1970
TV Series
Herself
The David Frost Show
1970
TV Series
Herself
Festival of Arts
1965
TV Series
Herself - Performer
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Live from Lincoln Center
2006
TV Series
Herself
Great Moments in Opera
1997
TV Movie
Herself
All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
TV Special
Herself
Retour au baroque
1993
TV Series documentary
Extrait de répétions de 'Rinaldo' à la Fenice de Venise
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1983
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts
Price/Horne Met Gala Concert (1982)
1981
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts