Cynthia Haymon facts for kids

Cynthia Haymon-Coleman is a super talented American singer, known as a soprano. This means she has a beautiful, high singing voice! People often say her voice is lovely and that she sings with great ease. Born in Jacksonville, Florida on September 6, 1958, Cynthia studied music at Northwestern University. After a wonderful career performing, she taught singing at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign until 2016. Now, she teaches privately from her studio in Champaign, Illinois, helping new singers find their voices.

Her Incredible Opera Roles

Cynthia Haymon-Coleman has played many exciting characters in operas. An opera is like a play where all the words are sung, usually with an orchestra! She has performed in some very famous operas around the world.

Some of her most well-known roles include:

• Bess in Porgy and Bess: This is a famous American opera.
• Liù in Turandot: A beautiful and dramatic Italian opera.
• Mimì in La bohème: Another popular Italian opera about artists in Paris.
• Micaela in Carmen: A passionate French opera.
• Pamina in The Magic Flute: A magical German opera by Mozart.
• Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro: A funny and clever opera, also by Mozart.

Singing for a Famous Composer

Cynthia also had the special chance to perform a brand new piece of music called "Seven for Luck." She sang this with the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra. The music was written by John Williams, who is known for composing the music for many popular movies like Star Wars and Harry Potter! The words for "Seven for Luck" were written by a poet named Rita Dove.

A Grammy Award Nomination!

Cynthia Haymon-Coleman was even nominated for a Grammy Award! A Grammy is a very important award given to people who are excellent in the music industry. She was nominated for her amazing performance as Bess in the opera Porgy and Bess. She sang this role in a big production at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1986. Her performance was also featured on an album made from that production in 1989 and in a television show in 1993.