BIRTHDAY: Bradford’s own Marilyn Horne, a world-renowned opera star, celebrates her 90th birthday today. Although her childhood home on Avenue B no longer stands, her lasting impact on the opera world is commemorated at the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center on Veterans Square, established in 2017.

When she returned to Bradford for the museum’s opening, she recalled her upbringing in the Fifth Ward, where Italian nonnas attempted to feed her while she traipsed behind her mother, Berneice, as she performed her tax assessor duties.

Horne and her sister, Gloria, began their singing journey in Bradford before relocating to Southern California, where her father, Bentz, recognized there were greater opportunities.

As a mezzo-soprano, Horne earned ovations in opera houses across two continents, but she also had popular appeal. In the 1970s and ’80s, she appeared on “Sesame Street,” “The Tonight Show,” and “The Carol Burnett Show,” reaching audiences far beyond The Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Horne renewed her ties to her hometown through her foundation’s efforts to bring to Bradford each year two recitals of young singers. A new friend named Jim Guelfi and Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center were supportive. Separately, she performed a program of popular music with BCPAC in 2000 at Bradford Area High School.

Soon after, she served as an honorary chairwoman to help the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford raise money for the construction of Blaisdell Hall, its home for the arts. When Pitt-Bradford honored her for her work on that campaign, she decided to give her archives to the university, despite being wooed by the Library of Congress.

To learn more about Marilyn Horne, stop by the museum downtown. Don’t miss her “Sesame Street” appearance singing “C is for Cookie” while dressed as an Egyptian queen.

Happy birthday, Marilyn Horne!