Marilyn Horne Rehearses Carmen On The Odd Couple (But I Made A Backing Track For It)

This video was posted on the 90th birthday of its honorable subject, the timeless mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

Horne’s influence on the operatic world is as immense and profound as her magnificent voice. Her sumptuous legato, impeccable coloratura, grounded acting, soaring high notes, and virile chest register would have already placed her among the greatest stars ever to grace the operatic stage. Her legacy has also been secured by her acclaimed status as an educator and vocal pedagogue. But it is her ability to connect with a much broader audience through brilliantly crafted performances in mass media that has forever cemented her name into popular culture.

Among Horne’s iconic appearances on television include The Carol Burnett Show (alongside phenomenal soprano/beltress Eileen Farrell), Sesame Street, and The Odd Couple. Most of these have been posted numerous times on YouTube (including my own piano-vocal arrangement/transcription of her operatic rendition of “C Is For Cookie”    • "C Is For Cookie" (as performed by Ma...  ), but there is an unusual dearth of any online clips from The Odd Couple’s “Vocal Girl Makes Good” (Season 4, Episode 17), which I am attempting to rectify with this video.

The custom backing track is split into two parts, with the latter featuring the flute solo that appears after Carmen sings “je brave tout le feu, le fer, et le ciel même.” As the solo is lined up with Jackie’s inspired staging choice with Oscar (and the subsequent reaction from the studio audience), I decided to double the sultry melody with a muted trumpet to cut better through the mix and to pay homage to the jazzy underscoring of the beloved sitcom.

UPDATE TIME: Apparently my work was cited in an interview with THE Marilyn Horne! https://www.ocregister.com/2024/02/13... On February 13th, 2024, almost a full month after this video was posted, Peter Larsen published an article in The Orange County Register that mentioned the moment featured in this backing track video.

"Q [Larsen]: There’s a clip online of you on The Odd Couple with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman and you give Oscar a big kiss.
A [Horne]: I don’t remember. I’ve probably got a video of it. If it’s not at my house, I have a museum in Pennsylvania and it’s in the museum."

As my backing track video marks the first time that this particular scene has appeared anywhere online, and given the timing of the interview (Larsen opens his call with Horne by wishing her a happy belated 90th birthday), I can only assume that Larsen was referring to this very upload!

I loved hearing legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne rehearse Carmen on The Odd Couple for HOURS as I made a backing track for her and edited the video to fit the track. You're welcome, internet.