Perhaps best known around the world as Bess in Porgy and Bess, Ms. Haymon made her debut in 1985 in the title role of Thea Musgrave’s Harriet, A Woman called Moses, in the world-premiere performance for the Virginia Opera. Since then, her career has taken her around the United States with engagements that include Micaela in Carmen with the San Francisco Opera and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Liu in Turandot with the Seattle Opera. In 1986 she made her European debut as Bess in Trevor Nunn’s production of Porgy and Bess at Glyndebourne, with Sir Simon Rattle. She also created the role of Coretta King in the musical King, opposite Simon Estes in London’s West End. In concert, Ms. Haymon appeared with the Israel Philharmonic under Kurt Masur, the London Symphony Orchestra under both Myung-Whun Chung and Michael Tilson Thomas, the Cleveland Orchestra under Isaiah Jackson, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s Swords and Plowshares.
Ms. Haymon performed in the world premieres of Portraits by Richard Danielpour, with Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax, and John Williams’ first song cycle, Seven for Luck. Ms. Haymon’s first solo recording, Where the Music Comes From: American Songs, on Decca’s Argo Label, features art songs by American composers. She also portrays Bess on the EMI recording of Porgy and Bess with composer Sir Simon Rattle, which was recorded from the original Glynebourne production and won a 1990 Grammy Award. She has sung the role of Leila in Les Pecheurs de Perles for Portland Opera, Eileen in Bernstein’s Wonderful Town, and Poppea in Pierre Audi’s production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York. Other engagements have included Liu for the Portland Opera, Verdi’s Te Deum, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, with James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony, Mimi in La Boheme, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, and Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5, with Carl St. Clair and the Indianapolis Symphony.