Barbara Hendricks To Give Speech And Get Honorary Degree At UNL

Barbara Hendricks seen here in her groundbreaking portrayal of Mimì for the
1988 film version of Puccini's La Bohème directed by Luigi Comencini.

"Spring semester commencement exercises at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are set for May 8-9. Graduate and professional degrees will be awarded May 8 at 3 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Commencement for students earning bachelor's degrees is May 9 at 9:30 a.m., also at the arena. Opera singer and UNL alumna Barbara Hendricks will give the undergraduate commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree. Born in Arkansas, Hendricks received a bachelor of science degree from UNL and later studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1974, she made her operatic debut at the San Francisco Opera and the Glyndebourne Festival as well as her recital debut in New York City's Town Hall. Hendricks has sung at the Paris Opera, the MET in New York, Covent Garden in London and La Scala in Milano. Hendricks made her jazz debut at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1994 and has since performed regularly in jazz festivals throughout the world. She starred as Mimi in the 1988 film La Boheme and played The Angel in Peter Eotvos' opera Angels in America in 2004 in Paris." [Source]