Hila Plitmann

Hila Plitmann (born August 9, 1973) is an Israeli-American two-time Grammy Award-winning operatic soprano, songwriter, and actress specializing in the performance of new works.

In 1996, Plitmann won the Sony ES Prize for outstanding contribution to the vocal arts.

In 1998, one year after graduating from the Juilliard School, Plitmann premiered Pulitzer Prize winner David Del Tredici's The Spider and the Fly on only two weeks notice with The New York Philharmonic under the baton of Kurt Masur.

Her theatrical acting debut was in the role of Sharon in the Fountain Theater's production of Master Class by Terrence McNally.

From 1998 to 2017 she was married to composer Eric Whitacre.

Plitmann holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Other notable performances include the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici's Paul Revere's Ride with the Atlanta Symphony under Robert Spano; and the world premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Wing on Wing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall; the premiere of Eric Whitacre and David Norona's groundbreaking Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings in Los Angeles; John Corigliano's Mr. Tambourine Man with the Brooklyn Philharmonic; the world premiere of Andrea Clearfield's The Long Bright with Orchestra 2001; the premiere of a new song cycle written for her by composer Aaron Jay Kernis; the Naxos world premiere recording of John Corigliano's Mr. Tambourine Man with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor; and David Del Tredici's Final Alice with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin.

In 2007, for her role of Exstasis in Eric Whitacre’s electro-musical Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, Plitmann was nominated for “Best Lead Actress in a Musical” at the Los Angeles Ovation Awards and the L.A. Ticketholder Awards.

In 2009, Plitmann created the role of Mrs Clayton in the Opera Santa Barbara production of Stephen Schwartz's opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon, and in 2015 she created the role of Yan in Mark Adamo's Becoming Santa Claus.

In February 2009, Plitmann was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her 2009 performance of Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems Of Bob Dylan.

Plitmann won her second Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance in 2022 for Mythologies, an album inspired by Ancient Greece with original compositions by Danaë Xanthe Vlasse, recorded with Vlasse and soprano Sangeeta Kaur.

Plitmann can be heard as a featured vocal soloist on many film scores and soundtracks.

Plitmann has appeared in acting/singing roles both live on stage and filmed, including Hershey Felder's musical films Dante and Beatrice and Mozart and Figaro in Vienna, and in Eric Whitacre’s electro-musical Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings.