Born: 13 October 1949, Enid, Oklahoma
Leona Mitchell, Actress, Singer is an African-American and Chickasaw operatic soprano and an Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductee.
Mitchell started singing at an early age in the choir of the Antioch Church of God in Christ in Enid, where her father, Reverend Dr. Hulon Mitchell was the minister along with her mother, Dr. Pearl Mitchell who was the pianist. She received a BA in music from the Oklahoma City University, went on to graduate studies at the Julliard School in New York, and received honorary doctorates from Oklahoma City University and the University of Oklahoma. In 1983 she was inducted in the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame.
In 1973, she debuted as Micaela in Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen with the San Francisco Opera, debuting on 15 December 1975 in the same role at the Metropolitan Opera. She received international attention[citation needed] as Bess in the first complete stereo recording of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra. It was also in this role that she earned her Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.[1] She has contributed to several recordings, had television appearances, and served as honorary chair of Black Heritage Month of the Oklahoma legislature. In 1988 Leona Mitchell performed the role of Liù in Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera under the direction of James Levine to rave reviews.
Leona Mitchell is a Grammy Award Winning soprano who sang for 18 seasons as a leading spinto Soprano at The Metropolitan Opera of New York. She has also sung for most of the world's greatest opera houses; Paris, Covent Garden, Vienna, Rome, Australia, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Chicago, Caracalla, and The Orange Festival amongst others. She has also appeared with some major symphony orchestras including those in London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and many others.
Mitchell has sung for four US Presidents: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. She has also sung for many dignitaries: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor, and Bishop Tutu. On July 5, 1986, she performed on the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC Television. The orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, performed in Central Park. She sang the aria un bel di from "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini and the American spiritual He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.
In her home state of Oklahoma, Mitchell has been awarded many honors. These include The Oklahoma Hall of Fame, The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, The Women's Hall of Fame and The Jazz Hall of Fame. Her home town of Enid has a Leona Mitchell Boulevard in her honor, as well as the city's Leona Mitchell Southern Heights Heritage Center and Museum. Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma made her Oklahoma's State Cultural Ambassador.
Mitchell has appeared in a production with each one of the Three Tenors: Ernani with Luciano Pavarotti, Turandot with Plácido Domingo and Carmen with Jose Carreras, each of which has been recorded on DVD. In addition, she has been a favorite of many television broadcasts: The Merv Griffin Show, the Jerry Lewis Telethon, Good Morning America and CBS Nightwatch, and was heard and seen on many PBS "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcasts plus the "Live from the Met" series.
Leona Mitchell currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband/manager Elmer Bush and son Elmer Bush IV.