Marilyn Horne (b. January 16, 1934, Bradford, Pennsylvania) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who is particularly associated with the music of Rossini and Handel. She began her career as a light lyric soprano; however, as the years progressed, the voice settled and matured into a mezzo-soprano instrument with a full and rich timbre equipped with extreme flexibility and great size. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty o...
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Marilyn Horne (b. January 16, 1934, Bradford, Pennsylvania) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who is particularly associated with the music of Rossini and Handel. She began her career as a light lyric soprano; however, as the years progressed, the voice settled and matured into a mezzo-soprano instrument with a full and rich timbre equipped with extreme flexibility and great size. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages.
Horne was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, but moved with her parents to Long Beach, California when she was 11. At the age of 13, she became part of the newly formed Los Angeles Concert Youth Chorus -- whose other members included a 14-year old Marni Nixon and a 19-year old Paul Salamunovich, among many others -- under famed conductor Roger Wagner; this choir evolved into the Roger Wagner Chorale in 1948, and later into the Los Angeles Master Chorale in...
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