Joanna Simon
Encyclopedia
Joanna Simon is an American
mezzo-soprano
and currently a Manhattan
based real estate broker. She was born in New York
and is the sister of rock musicians Carly
and Lucy Simon
(see also Simon Sisters
).
. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
, majoring in philosophy
. Opera studies continued with Dr. Freschl and then at the International Opera Studio directed by Herbert Graf
in Zurich
and at Spoleto
with Gian Carlo Menotti
.
singing Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
, opposite Norman Treigle
in the title role. That same year she won the Metropolitan Opera
auditions and the Marian Anderson
Prize. Engagements followed around the United States
singing with orchestras and she became a particular favorite at Bach
festivals.
Receiving a huge amount of publicity for her performances in the world premiere of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera
’s Bomarzo
in 1967, for the Washington Opera Society, creating the role of the courtesan Pantasilea., she gained a reputation primarily as a singer of contemporary music. She also sang the standard song literature of oratorios, masses and cantatas, Handel
, Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Brahms and Bach
, whom she regarded as “medicine for the voice”. Interviewed in 1971 by William Livingston for Stereo Review
she said “if I were forced to choose a single favorite work, it would be the St. Matthew Passion”.
Nonetheless, the reviews for Bomarzo
and its repeat season in New York
in 1968 were superlative and her success brought national and international attention to the 28-year-old singer, which was a turning point in her career.
New roles she sang in the next few seasons included Carmen
at the Bordeaux Opera and later in Israel
with Zubin Mehta
, Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde
with the New York Philharmonic
under Leonard Bernstein
and the Countess Gerschwitz in the American National Opera Company’s production of Alban Berg
’s Lulu
. In 1972 she originated the role of Raquel in the world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri
's Black Widow
with Seattle Opera
and reprised the role at Lake George Opera that same year. Other notable appearances include Atlanta Civic Opera Association and the role of Fenena in Verdi's Nabucco
with the New York City Opera in 1981.
She also began to appear on television, including Ed Sullivan
, the Tonight Show and the talk shows of David Frost
, Dick Cavett
, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin
.
Her opera career then continued with appearances in major roles in the opera houses of the world including New York
, Philadelphia, Chicago
, Boston
, Los Angeles
, Vienna
, Munich
and Berlin
, appearing under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein
, Eugene Ormandy
, Carlo Maria Giulini
, James Levine
and Herbert von Karajan
.
, co-founder of book publishers Simon & Schuster, Inc. and Andrea Heinemann Simon
, a civil rights activist and singer. Simon grew up in Fieldston
, a section of Riverdale
in the Bronx
. The eldest of four, her sisters are rock musician, singer and songwriter Carly Simon
(b. 1945), musician and composer Lucy Simon
(b. 1943), and younger brother, Peter Simon (b. 1947), a photo journalist. Joanna Simon was married to the late Gerald Walker (April 16, 1928 – February 19, 2004), a former articles editor for The New York Times Magazine
and author of the book Cruising
, published in 1970 by Stein and Day
, which describes a series of crimes against gay men in New York City. It was adapted to Cruising
in 1980.
In the recent past, Joanna Simon is reported to have established a relationship with now-deceased broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite
, who stated in an interview for the New York Post
in January 2006: "We are keeping company, as the old phrase used to be. I'm not making any moves immediately. I don't think it's proper. My wife has only been gone less than a year. I'll wait until that year has passed, at least." Walter Cronkite
’s wife Betsy had died on March 15, 2005, aged 89. In 2007, Joanna Simon was described in the press as Cronkite's "girlfriend."
-winning Arts Correspondent with the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour from 1986-1992.
Her current career sees her based in Manhattan
as Vice President of the Fox Residential Group, real estate brokers, a company which she joined in 1998. She is currently a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Manhattan Association of Realtors, the New York State Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
and currently a Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
based real estate broker. She was born in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and is the sister of rock musicians Carly
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
and Lucy Simon
Lucy Simon
Lucy Simon is an American composer for the theatre and popular songs. She is known for the musical, The Secret Garden.-Biography:...
(see also Simon Sisters
Simon Sisters
The Simon Sisters was a band of two sisters, Carly Simon and Lucy Simon. They were signed up by Kapp Records in 1964. That same year Kapp released their only albums with the record label: Meet The Simon Sisters and later Cuddlebug...
).
Early life
Joanna Simon began piano lessons at the age of six, and then became interested in acting while in high school, deciding that was to be her career. Acting continued until half way through college, when she became interested in the art of musical comedy. Singing lessons commenced at this point with Dr. Marion Freschl, who advised her to switch to operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, majoring in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Opera studies continued with Dr. Freschl and then at the International Opera Studio directed by Herbert Graf
Herbert Graf
Herbert Grafton was an Austrian-American opera producer. Born in Vienna in 1904, he was the son of Max Graf , the Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Sigmund Freud's circle of friends...
in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and at Spoleto
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
with Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
.
Opera career
Simon made her professional operatic debut in 1962 at the New York City OperaNew York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
singing Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, opposite Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror....
in the title role. That same year she won the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
auditions and the Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
Prize. Engagements followed around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singing with orchestras and she became a particular favorite at Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
festivals.
Receiving a huge amount of publicity for her performances in the world premiere of Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
’s Bomarzo
Bomarzo (Ginastera)
Bomarzo is an opera in two acts by Alberto Ginastera, his Opus 34, to a Spanish libretto by Manuel Mujica Laínez, based on his 1962 novel about the 16th century Italian eccentric Pier Francesco Orsini. The opera had its world premiere at the Opera Society of Washington, Washington D.C., on 19 May...
in 1967, for the Washington Opera Society, creating the role of the courtesan Pantasilea., she gained a reputation primarily as a singer of contemporary music. She also sang the standard song literature of oratorios, masses and cantatas, Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Brahms and Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, whom she regarded as “medicine for the voice”. Interviewed in 1971 by William Livingston for Stereo Review
Stereo Review
Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...
she said “if I were forced to choose a single favorite work, it would be the St. Matthew Passion”.
Nonetheless, the reviews for Bomarzo
Bomarzo (Ginastera)
Bomarzo is an opera in two acts by Alberto Ginastera, his Opus 34, to a Spanish libretto by Manuel Mujica Laínez, based on his 1962 novel about the 16th century Italian eccentric Pier Francesco Orsini. The opera had its world premiere at the Opera Society of Washington, Washington D.C., on 19 May...
and its repeat season in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1968 were superlative and her success brought national and international attention to the 28-year-old singer, which was a turning point in her career.
New roles she sang in the next few seasons included Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
at the Bordeaux Opera and later in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
with Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and the Countess Gerschwitz in the American National Opera Company’s production of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
’s Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
. In 1972 she originated the role of Raquel in the world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri
Thomas Pasatieri
Thomas Pasatieri is an American opera composer.He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger...
's Black Widow
Black Widow (opera)
Black Widow is an opera in three acts by Thomas Pasatieri with an English libretto also by the composer. The libretto is based on Miguel de Unamuno's Dos madres. The opera premiered on March 2, 1972 with Seattle Opera. Other notable productions include Lake George Opera in 1972 and the Atlanta...
with Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
and reprised the role at Lake George Opera that same year. Other notable appearances include Atlanta Civic Opera Association and the role of Fenena in Verdi's Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
with the New York City Opera in 1981.
She also began to appear on television, including Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, the Tonight Show and the talk shows of David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
, Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
.
Her opera career then continued with appearances in major roles in the opera houses of the world including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Philadelphia, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, appearing under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
, James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
and Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
.
Family
Born in New York, Joanna Simon is the daughter of Richard L. SimonRichard L. Simon
Richard Leo Simon was an American businessman, Columbia University graduate, and co-founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster. Born in New York City, his brother was music critic and author George T...
, co-founder of book publishers Simon & Schuster, Inc. and Andrea Heinemann Simon
Andrea Heinemann Simon
Andrea Heinemann Simon was a community leader and mother of award-winning singer, Carly Simon.-Biography:Born Andrea Louise Heinemann as the second child of Frederick and Elma Heinemann, she was raised in Philadelphia...
, a civil rights activist and singer. Simon grew up in Fieldston
Fieldston, Bronx
Fieldston is a section of the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York City. It is bounded by Manhattan College Parkway to the south, Henry Hudson Parkway to the west, 250th Street to the north and Broadway to the east....
, a section of Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. The eldest of four, her sisters are rock musician, singer and songwriter Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
(b. 1945), musician and composer Lucy Simon
Lucy Simon
Lucy Simon is an American composer for the theatre and popular songs. She is known for the musical, The Secret Garden.-Biography:...
(b. 1943), and younger brother, Peter Simon (b. 1947), a photo journalist. Joanna Simon was married to the late Gerald Walker (April 16, 1928 – February 19, 2004), a former articles editor for The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
and author of the book Cruising
Cruising (novel)
Cruising is a novel written by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker and published in 1970.The novel is about an undercover cop looking for a homosexual killer in the world of sadomasochism leather gay bars in Greenwich Village, New York....
, published in 1970 by Stein and Day
Stein and Day
Stein and Day, Inc. was an American publishing company founded by Sol Stein and his wife Patricia Day in 1962. Stein was both the publisher and the editor-in-chief...
, which describes a series of crimes against gay men in New York City. It was adapted to Cruising
Cruising (film)
Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
in 1980.
In the recent past, Joanna Simon is reported to have established a relationship with now-deceased broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
, who stated in an interview for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
in January 2006: "We are keeping company, as the old phrase used to be. I'm not making any moves immediately. I don't think it's proper. My wife has only been gone less than a year. I'll wait until that year has passed, at least." Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
’s wife Betsy had died on March 15, 2005, aged 89. In 2007, Joanna Simon was described in the press as Cronkite's "girlfriend."
Later life
Simon also enjoyed a career as an Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning Arts Correspondent with the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour from 1986-1992.
Her current career sees her based in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
as Vice President of the Fox Residential Group, real estate brokers, a company which she joined in 1998. She is currently a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Manhattan Association of Realtors, the New York State Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors
National Association of Realtors
The National Association of Realtors , whose members are known as Realtors, is North America's largest trade association. representing over 1.2 million members , including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries...
.