born Jan. 16, 1934, Bradford, Pa., U.S.
U.S. mezzo-soprano.
Horne studied voice at the University of Southern California and with the soprano Lotte Lehmann (18881976). In 1954 Horne dubbed the singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge in the film Carmen Jones , and that same year, she made her opera debut with the Los Angeles Guild Opera. Her long and influential association with the bel canto (a singing style based on an exact control of the intensity of vocal tone) repertoire began in 1962, and she played an important role in the revival of operas by George Frideric Handel and Gioacchino Rossini . Her distinctive voice was even throughout its remarkably wide range, and she had virtuoso control of breath and pitch. She retired in 2000 after a long career.