Sylvia McNair (born June 23, 1956) is an American

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Early life and musical training

Sylvia McNair was born in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The c ...

, the daughter of George and Marilou McNair. She attended and graduated from Lexington High School, just south of Mansfield. As a youth, she studied violin. She originally enrolled in the undergraduate music program at Wheaton College, IL as a violin major, but was encouraged by a violin instructor there to study voice as well. She commenced vocal studies at Wheaton with Margarita Evans, and finding herself more suited to singing, discontinued violin as her major. She earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...

degree in 1978 from Wheaton and subsequently a Master of Music with Distinction in 1983 from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

(whose music school is now the Jacobs School of Music), where she studied voice with Virginia MacWatters, John Wustman, and

Virginia Zeani Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925), Commendatore OMRI is a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was known for her dramatic intensity and ...

Career

McNair made her professional concert debut in 1980 with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Her operatic debut, in 1982, was as Sandrina in

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

's '' L'infedeltà delusa'' with the Mostly Mozart Festival. She appeared regularly at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

, the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, the Santa Fe Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, and has soloed with many major European and American orchestras. Since the late 1990s, McNair has changed the focus of her singing career to Broadway and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

styles. In these genres she has achieved considerable critical acclaim and commercial success. From 2006 to 2017, McNair was part of the voice faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, her alma mater. She taught English diction (IPA), opera workshop, and has taught private lessons to a few female singers and a tenor. From 2012 to 2017, McNair has served as a judge and mentor for the Songbook Academy, a summer intensive for high school students operated by the Great American Songbook Foundation and founded by Michael Feinstein. She has also written many children books about countries and the U.S.A.

Critical commentary

"Her phrasing is exemplary. Her modulations are inspired. Her time is enviable. . . . I could get used to this kind of ecstasy." — Rex Reed, 2005

Personal

McNair married

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

Hal France in 1986. The couple are now divorced. She was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

in 2006. Her treatments have included mastectomy,

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

and

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...

. In December 2017, McNair came forward as one of several women accusing famed conductor Charles Dutoit of sexual assault. McNair said that Dutoit "tried to have his way" with her after a March 1985 rehearsal with the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Emi ...

Recorded repertoire

Sylvia McNair has made over 70 recordings, including many complete operas (including Ilia in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's '' Idomeneo, re di Creta'', Poppea in

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is conside ...

's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'', both under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists for the ARCHIV label), and

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

's '' Knoxville: Summer of 1915''. She has also recorded a number of recitals, ranging from "

arias" with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields to CDs with

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieve ...

of music by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

and Harold Arlen (''Sure Thing'' and ''Come Rain or Come Shine''). The Previn collaboration also yielded a CD of Andre's works called ''From Ordinary Things'', including: ''Four Songs'' and ''Two Remembrances'' with lyrics by

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, '' The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' S ...

, ''Vocalise'' with Cellist Yo Yo Ma, and well as the ''Cello Sonata'', again with Yo Yo Ma and the composer at the piano throughout.

Awards and honors

McNair's awards and honors include the following: *National Metropolitan Opera Auditions, first place, 1982 *

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

Award, 1990 *Grammy Awards, 1993 and 1996 *Honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Westminster Choir College, 1997, and

, 1998 *Governor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Entertainment from Ohio Governor Bob Taft, 1999 *Command recital performances for Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Discography

Solo Albums *'' Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate - Handel, Mozart / Mcnair, Gardiner'' (Philips, 1993) *'' Love's Sweet Surrender'' (Philips, 1998) *'' Rêveries'' (Philips, 2007) *'' Sylvia Mcnair - The Echoing Air'' (Philips, 2008) *''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

'' (2011) *'' Romance: A Collection Of Latin Love Songs'' (Lumusic, 2012) *'' Subject to Change!'' (Harbinger, 2016) Appears on *'' Mozart Great Mass in C minor'' (Decca, 1987) *'' Mozart: Il Re Pastore'' (Philips, 1991) *'' Beethoven: The Symphonies'' (Philips, 1993) *'' Christmas in Leipzig'' (Dorian Recordings, 1988) *'' Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4, Overtures, Ein deutsches Requiem'' (Warner Classics) *'' Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict'' (Erato, 1991) *'' Orff: Carmina Burana'' (Rca, 1992) *'' Handel: Messiah'' (Philips, 1992) *'' Music of Samuel Barber'' (Telarc Digital, 1992) *'' Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 - Vocalise'' (Telarc Digital, 1992) *'' Mahler: Symphony No. 4'' (Decca, 1993) *'' Handel: Semele'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 1993) *'' Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Vienna Version, 1762 - Sung in Italian)'' (Decca, 1993) *'' Rossini: Il Viaggio a Reims'' (Sony Classical, 1993) *'' Mahler: Symphony No. 2'' (Decca, 1994) *'' Fauré: Requiem'' (Philips, 1995) *'' Purcell: The Fairy Queen'' (Teldec, 1995) *'' Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea (Complete)'' (Archiv Produktion, 1996) *'' Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 64'' (Philips, 1996) *'' Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress'' (Philips, 1997) *'' Ravel: Shéhérazade'' (Philips, 1998) *''

The Faces of Love - The Songs of Jake Heggie ''The Faces of Love'' is a 78-minute studio album of contemporary classical songs composed by Jake Heggie, performed by Brian Asawa, Zheng Cao, Kristin Clayton, Renée Fleming, Nicolle Foland, Jennifer Larmore, Sylvia McNair, Frederica von Stade an ...

'' (RCA, 1999) *'' Tonight - Hits from the Musicals'' (Philips, 2000) *'' The Land Where the Good Songs Go'' (Harbinger, 2001) *'' Grieg: Peer Gynt - Incidental Music'' (EMI Classics, 2005) *'' Haydn: The Creation'' (Archiv Produktion, 2007) *'' Fauré: Requiem; Pavane'' (Decca, 2008) *'' Mozart: Requiem'' (Decca, 2011) *'' Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2011) With

*'' Sure Thing: The Jerome Kern Songbook'' (Philips, 1994) *'' Come Rain or Shine: The Harold Arlen Songbook'' (Philips, 1996) *''

From Ordinary Things; Cello Sonata, Four Songs, Two Remembrances, Vocalise From may refer to: * From, a preposition * From (SQL), computing language keyword * From: (email message header), field showing the sender of an email * FromSoftware, a Japanese video game company * Full range of motion, the travel in a range of ...

'' (Sony Masterworks, 1997)

References

;Sources *"McNair, Sylvia" in ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Eighth Edition, ed. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992. *"Sylvia McNair Recovering From Breast Cancer, Joining Indiana University Faculty" by Matthew Westphal. ''Playbill Arts'', 7 August 2006.
link

from Indiana University Media Relations *"Michael Feinstein, Sylvia McNair, et al. to Judge Songbook Vocal Competition, 6/12" by BWW News Desk. ''broadwayworld.com'', 4 June 2012.
link
*"High School Vocalists Set for Michael Feinstein's 2014 Great American Songbook Competition Tonight" by BWW News Desk. ''broadwayworld.com'', 25 July 2014.
link
*"Songbook Academy Mentors, Clinicians, and Musical Directors". ''The Great American Songbook Foundation''
link

External links

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USA Today Article {{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Sylvia 1956 births Living people American operatic sopranos Indiana University alumni Jacobs School of Music faculty People from Mansfield, Ohio Grammy Award winners American musical theatre actresses Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Women music educators Singers from Ohio Classical musicians from Ohio 21st-century American women