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The American soprano, Marilyn Taylor, obtained her B.M.E and M.M. degrees at the University of Louisville and studied with Virginia Zeani, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, and Giorgio Tozzi.
Marilyn Taylor began her professional singing career as Artist-in-Residence with the Kentucky Opera. She won accolades there and at several opera companies including those in Des Moines, Kansas City, Dayton, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Winston-Salem for many roles, including Pamina, Musetta, Nannetta, Micaela, Sophie, the Governess, Donna Elvira, and Eliza Doolittle.
Noted for beauty of voice and interpretation of a wide range of repertoire, Marilyn Taylor is equally at home performing concert music from the Baroque to the avant-garde. The New York Times has praised her performances of Monteverdi and Gustav Mahler under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies, and she was lauded in Germany as a "figure commanding respect and attention" after her performance there of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244). She has performed at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. and toured France with Benjamin Britten's Les Illuminations.
Recorded on labels of G. Schirmer and Koch, Marilyn Taylor has also appeared on the Albany label, featuring The Kona Coffee Cantata, a chamber opera by composer Jerre Tanner, recorded with the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Her solo CD entitled "Return: Art Songs from Carolina," released by Albany, received critical acclaim in several reviews.
Marilyn Taylor was the recipient of a career grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and a George London grant, given to "artists possessing a full range of singing, musical, and acting talent." She possesses an avid interest in contemporary music and has collaborated with composers William Bolcom, Robert Ward, Warren Benson, John Harbison, and George Rochberg. One of her most challenging assignments was performing the leading role of Alida in the opera Roman Fever by Robert Ward for TV production. At home in North Carolina, Marilyn Taylor is in demand for performances with several arts organizations, including the Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Chamber Singers, and the North Carolina School for the Arts, where she serves as chair of the Voice Department. Marilyn Taylor is gratified to see her students performing at the Metropolitan Opera, the Chautauqua Institute, Tanglewood Festival, AVA in Philadelphia, the Juilliard School, and opera/musical theater companies throughout the country. |
