Karla Burns (born December , ) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano
and actress who has performed nationally and internationally in opera
houses, theaters, and on television. She is notably the first black
person, African-American or otherwise, to win the Laurence Olivier
Award, Britain's most prestigious award for theatre.Karla Burns was
born and raised in Wichita, Kansas to parents Ira Willie Lee Burns and
Catherine S. Burns. Burns credits her parents for inspiring her
musical gifts. Her father was a jazz and gospel pianist and her mother
sang spirituals and old hymns at church. Burns played the clarinet in
band while growing up and graduated from Wichita West High
School.Burns attended Wichita State University from which she earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education and a BA in Theater
Performance. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in from Wichita
State. After leaving college, Burns appeared throughout the world in
musical and classical theater productions, operas and revues.
Highlights of her career include performances with the Paris Opera,
the Teatro Real in Madrid, Cairo Opera House, and the Royal
Shakespeare Company in London. She has also appeared in performances
at the Metropolitan Opera as Lily in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
and in Noa Ain's Trio at Carnegie Hall in New York City.Burns is known
for the one-woman musical that she has toured with and occasionally
still performs. The show, Hi-Hat Hattie, was written by Larry Parr and
examines the life of Hattie McDaniel, America's first Black Oscar
winner. McDaniel and Burns' lives have some striking similarities.
Both Burns and McDaniel were born in Wichita and both played Queenie
in Show Boat. McDaniel was the first black actress to win an Oscar and
Burns was the first black actress to win the coveted British Olivier
award. Burns debut performance of Hi-Hat, Hattie at the Players
Theater of Columbus, Ohio in . She went on to perform the role in
several other cities including Off-Broadway in New York and the
Florida Studio Theater in Sarasota, FL. She performed the show in in
honor of the Hattie McDaniel stamp and later in the spring of marking
her own return to performance after handling some health issues. In
she had surgery to remove an almost ten-pound goiter from her neck.
The surgery significantly affected her speaking and singing voice and
she worked with therapists and vocal coaches to regain her
mezzo-soprano voice.
and actress who has performed nationally and internationally in opera
houses, theaters, and on television. She is notably the first black
person, African-American or otherwise, to win the Laurence Olivier
Award, Britain's most prestigious award for theatre.Karla Burns was
born and raised in Wichita, Kansas to parents Ira Willie Lee Burns and
Catherine S. Burns. Burns credits her parents for inspiring her
musical gifts. Her father was a jazz and gospel pianist and her mother
sang spirituals and old hymns at church. Burns played the clarinet in
band while growing up and graduated from Wichita West High
School.Burns attended Wichita State University from which she earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education and a BA in Theater
Performance. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in from Wichita
State. After leaving college, Burns appeared throughout the world in
musical and classical theater productions, operas and revues.
Highlights of her career include performances with the Paris Opera,
the Teatro Real in Madrid, Cairo Opera House, and the Royal
Shakespeare Company in London. She has also appeared in performances
at the Metropolitan Opera as Lily in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
and in Noa Ain's Trio at Carnegie Hall in New York City.Burns is known
for the one-woman musical that she has toured with and occasionally
still performs. The show, Hi-Hat Hattie, was written by Larry Parr and
examines the life of Hattie McDaniel, America's first Black Oscar
winner. McDaniel and Burns' lives have some striking similarities.
Both Burns and McDaniel were born in Wichita and both played Queenie
in Show Boat. McDaniel was the first black actress to win an Oscar and
Burns was the first black actress to win the coveted British Olivier
award. Burns debut performance of Hi-Hat, Hattie at the Players
Theater of Columbus, Ohio in . She went on to perform the role in
several other cities including Off-Broadway in New York and the
Florida Studio Theater in Sarasota, FL. She performed the show in in
honor of the Hattie McDaniel stamp and later in the spring of marking
her own return to performance after handling some health issues. In
she had surgery to remove an almost ten-pound goiter from her neck.
The surgery significantly affected her speaking and singing voice and
she worked with therapists and vocal coaches to regain her
mezzo-soprano voice.
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