Joanna Simon

From the early '60s Joanna Simon rose to prominence among American mezzo-sopranos, singing a wide variety of operatic roles, as well as concert and recital repertory. She became familiar to television audiences because of her appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, Tonight Show, and programs hosted by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Dick Cavett, and David Frost. Success and show business came naturally to her: her sisters are singer Carly Simon and composer/singer Lucy Simon; her father Richard was a co-founder of Simon & Schuster, and her mother Andrea Heinemann Simon was also a singer. While Joanna Simon earned a reputation early on for singing contemporary music, she also sang works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, Wagner, Prokofiev, Ginastera, and many others. She made numerous appearances at the New York City Opera and at the major opera houses of Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Vienna, and Berlin. She also appeared regularly with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and made many recordings, some still available from Orfeo, Andante, and Parnassus Records. Joanna Simon was born in New York City on October 20, 1940. While she studied piano from age six, she initially prepared for a career in acting. She became interested in musical comedy at Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied philosophy. Simon began voice lessons and, at the behest of her teacher Marion Freschl, switched her focus to opera. Simon had further studies at the Zurich-based International Opera Studio and with composer Gian Carlo Menotti. 1962 was a watershed year for Simon: she debuted as Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the New York City Opera, and then won both the Metropolitan Opera auditions and Marian Anderson Prize. In 1967 she appeared as Pantasilea in the American premiere of Ginastera's Bomarzo at the Opera Society of Washington (now Washington National Opera). She was a sensation and was engaged for a repeat performance at the New York City Opera in March 1968. While regularly singing much standard fare, from Bach to Mahler, Simon still took risks, appearing as Raquel in the 1972 Seattle Opera premiere of Thomas Pasatieri's Black Widow. She gave an acclaimed portrayal of Fenena in a 1981 New York City Opera performance of Verdi's Nabucco. Simon remained active throughout the remainder of the century, while also serving as an arts correspondent on the PBS MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour from 1986-1992. From 1998, Simon served as an executive for a New York City-based real estate brokerage firm. Joanna Simon died in Manhattan, New York from thyroid cancer on October 19, 2022; her sister Lucy Simon died the following day.
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