American soprano Catherine Malfitano was born into a musical family in New York City in 1948. Her father was a violinist, who was member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for thirty years. Her mother was a ballet dancer and like her father worked at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan with the American Ballet Theater. Malfitano had her first voice lessons with her father, and she made her first recording with him. Her operatic debut came in 1972 as Nannetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Falstaff” at the Central City Opera. Malfitano sings operas and songs from a variety of eras and in a diversity of languages, including English, German, Italian, French, and Czech. She also often includes American popular songs in her recital performances. She originated roles in the world premieres of the American operas “Transformations” by Conrad Susa and “McTeague” by William Bolcom. Malfitano also received an Emmy for her performance in a 1992 televised version of “Tosca” with Placido Domingo.