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A renowned mezzo-soprano, she grew up alongside her younger sisters, Carly and Lucy, some of whom became singer-songwriters.
Oct. 21, 2022Updated 11:16 p.m. ET
Joanna Simon, a smoky-voiced mezzo-soprano who grew up successful a household loaded with philharmonic talent, including her younger sisters Carly and Lucy, earlier forging an acclaimed vocation arsenic an opera and performance singer, died connected Wednesday successful Manhattan. She was 85.
Mary Ascheim, a archetypal relative of Ms. Simon’s, said the origin was thyroid cancer. Ms. Simon died successful a infirmary a time earlier Lucy Simon’s decease astatine 82 astatine her location successful Piermont, N.Y.
Ms. Simon was 1 of the best-known American opera singers to look successful the 1960s, a clip erstwhile arts backing was flush, audiences were afloat and gleaming caller euphony palaces were opening, main among them the Metropolitan Opera House astatine Lincoln Center successful New York.
She made her nonrecreational debut successful 1962 arsenic Cherubino successful Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” astatine New York City Opera. The aforesaid year, she won the Marian Anderson Award, an yearly prize fixed to a promising young singer.
She stood retired for her scope of material, mastery of overseas languages and willingness to instrumentality risks connected modern composers. She was the archetypal to sing the relation of Pantasilea, a courtesan successful 16th-century Italy, successful “Bomarzo,” by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, erstwhile it made its debut successful 1967 astatine the Opera Society of Washington (today the Washington National Opera). That show won her worldwide acclaim, and she reprised it successful New York and Buenos Aires.
She was arsenic regarded arsenic a performance singer, performing classical and modern songs, including “Over the Rainbow.”
A fewer days earlier 1 recital successful New York, successful 1975, she tripped connected a rug successful her flat and broke her leg. Rather than telephone disconnected the show, she mounted the signifier connected crutches.
“As soon arsenic I was definite that my dependable hadn’t been affected, I knew I would spell on,” she told The New York Times.
Her casual grace and glamorous bully looks made her a fashionable impermanent connected tv speech shows. She sang and sat for interviews connected “The Tonight Show” and “The Dick Cavett Show,” and she was a featured performer connected the past archetypal telecast of “The Ed Sullivan Show” earlier it went disconnected the aerial successful 1971.
In her clasp of fashionable culture, Ms. Simon was not excessively acold removed from her singer-songwriter sisters. Carly Simon achieved lasting fame successful the aboriginal 1970s with popular hits similar “Anticipation” and “You’re So Vain.” Lucy Simon sang with Carly aboriginal connected — they were billed arsenic the Simon Sisters — and aboriginal recovered occurrence arsenic a composer. She received a Tony information successful 1991 for champion archetypal score, for the philharmonic “The Secret Garden.”
The sisters occasionally crossed paths. Joanna sang backup connected Carly’s medium “No Secrets” (1972) and Lucy’s medium “Lucy Simon” (1975), and Carly played guitar offstage during Joanna’s show connected “The Mike Douglas Show” successful 1971. Carly wrote her ain opera, “Romulus Hunt,” released arsenic an medium successful 1993; it featured a quality named Joanna, a mezzo-soprano.
The sisters grew up singing and playing euphony unneurotic and remained adjacent arsenic adults, avoiding the petty jealousies that often ensnare siblings engaged successful akin careers.
“When Lucy was 16, I envied her hourglass figure,” Joanna Simon told The Toronto Star successful 1985. “When Carly archetypal became successful, I envied her archetypal $200,000 check. But those feelings lasted for 20 minutes, and I didn’t dwell connected them. I knew it was a fixed successful the operatic satellite that precise fewer achieved that benignant of success. I ne'er expected it, truthful I wasn’t disappointed.”
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Joanna Elizabeth Simon was calved connected Oct. 20, 1936, successful Manhattan, the oldest kid of Richard L. Simon, a steadfast and laminitis of Simon & Schuster, and Andrea (Heinemann) Simon, a vocalist and homemaker. The household lived successful Manhattan and, later, the Fieldston vicinity of the Bronx.
The Simon children took to euphony early; Joanna could play soft astatine 6 years old. In precocious schoolhouse she thought she would go an actress, though by college, astatine Sarah Lawrence (which Carly besides aboriginal attended), she had switched to philharmonic comedy. Then a dependable manager encouraged her to see opera.
Upon graduating successful 1958 with a grade successful literature, she continued her opera grooming successful Vienna, past returned to New York to commencement her career.
Ms. Simon, who lived successful Manhattan, joined Gerald Walker, a novelist and exertion astatine The New York Times Magazine, successful 1976. He died successful 2004. She dated Walter Cronkite until his decease successful 2009.
In summation to her sister Carly, she is survived by her stepson, David Walker, and a step-grandson. Her brother, Peter, a photojournalist, died successful 2018.
Ms. Simon continued to sing professionally done the aboriginal 1980s, past gradually pulled backmost earlier retiring successful 1986 to articulation “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” connected PBS arsenic a taste correspondent. She won an Emmy Award successful 1991 for a documentary connected creativity and manic depression.
Funding for arts programming astatine “MacNeil/Lehrer” yet dried up, and her presumption was cut. Casting astir for a caller career, she became a real-estate broker. Within six months, she told The Times successful 1997, she had sold $6 cardinal successful property. She aboriginal became a vice president of her company, Fox Residential Group.
While her philharmonic inheritance wasn’t the cardinal to her newfound success, she said it sometimes came successful handy.
“When I instrumentality customers into imaginable apartments, I spell into the adjacent flat and vocalize,” she said. “If they tin perceive me, it’s nary deal.”
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