Horne Marilyn

American opera singer with a coloratura facility rare in voices lower than soprano who gained an outstanding reputation in Europe before her dazzling debut in America in 1960. She received the first Golden Plaque award presented by the Rossini Foundation, which describes her as "the greatest singer in the world" in 1982. Hornes father, Bentz, was a singer. Her career progressed from the time she was a child of four singing in the church choir, to patriotic songs with her sister during World War II and into her mature years from soprano to mezzo as her voice has grown lower in register. She was nicknamed Jackie by her older brother Richard who wanted a brother to play with as a child. Growing up in Long Beach, CA, she attended the University of Southern California where she became a member of the Phi Beta Phi sorority. Her professional debut was at 20 singing in Los Angeles in a production of Smetanas "The Bartered Bride," 1954. The same year she dubbed the singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen Jones in Oscar Hammersteins film recreation of Bizets "Carmen." She headed for Europe in 1956, first to study in Vienna, then on to Gelsenkirchen, West Germany where she spent three years as the opera companys house soprano. Learning her craft as well as languages and style helped her prepare for her American debut in the San Francisco Opera Companys production of Alban Bergs "Wozzeck" in 1960 which caused something of a sensation. She was so spectacular in this production that the Los Angeles Times nominated her their "Woman of the Year" and the Metropolitan Opera of New York offered her a contract to sing small roles, which she refused. In 1961 she billed herself as a mezzo-soprano for the first time. Hornes Metropolitan Opera debut was in 1970 singing with Dame Joan Sutherland in Bellinis "Norma." Good at mimicry, her style of learning is to constantly go over things in her head. She can create drama in the space of a two page song with her thunderous low tones, creamy middle register and trumpeting top notes including spectacular high C, as she is a true vocal gymnast whose voice has been described as the Horowitz piano and the Heifetz violin. Feeling that resonance was one of natures gifts to her, she has also worked diligently to keep her voice in condition over the years through exquisite control, patterning herself after the great nineteenth century contraltos. A perfectionist and a very traditional person, she misses the old days when the summer months were used to study new roles, opera houses were more intimate providing better acoustics and the state of singing itself was better. Feeling that microphones would kill opera the way they killed Broadway, she is disappointed that new facilities are larger with more emphasis on profitability and less attention paid to their sound. Dividing her time between opera and concerts has always been her habit, singing about 25 roles and 25 concerts per year. A thorough understanding of text has allowed her to go through periods of working with the music of Wagner, Rossini and Handel as her voice has changed, even taking on parts meant for eighteenth century castrati and some roles created for tenors. Although she loved singing "Carmen," care was necessary in this part as she acknowledged the fact that she is short and stocky. In 1980, when she sang a transposed part in Verdis "Don Carlo," one of her favorite composers, she had to rethink her views when she received some bo Read less