| Julia Migenes | |
| Birth Date: | 13 March 1943 |
| Birth Place: | New York, NY |
| Nationality: | Puerto Rican, Irish |
| Other Names: | Julia Migenes-Johnson |
| Occupation: | Actor, Singer |
Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1943)[1] is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to parents of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. (Her stepfather was of Greek descent.) She is sometimes credited as Julia Migenes-Johnson. She attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City.[2]
Julia Migenes played Tevye's second daughter, Hodel, in the original Broadway production of the long-running musical Fiddler on the Roof. She played Ciboletta in the 1973 film Eine Nacht in Venedig (re-released 2008). She also starred in the 1984 film of Carmen.
At age seven, Migenes originated the role of ‘Ngana’ in the first national tour of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific; she alternated in the role with her sister Maria. Also in the cast was her brother, John, in the role of Jerome, and her half-sister Jeanette as Bloody Mary’s Assistant (and understudy to Bloody Mary).[3] Reportedly, the siblings made enough money from the tour to buy their family a small house in the Bronx.[4]
She made her Broadway debut in the musical Carnival! She was a replacement understudy for the lead role of ‘Lili.’ Migenes performed the role from April 2 to April 14, 1962, when lead actress Anna Maria Alberghetti took vacation.[5]
Migenes then took on the leading role of ‘Maria’ in the 1964 Broadway revival of West Side Story which played a limited run from April 8 to May 2, 1964, at City Center.[6]
Migenes created the role of ‘Hodel,’ the second oldest of Tevye’s daughters in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof. While the production ran for almost eight years (lasting over 3,200 performances and winning nine Tony Awards), Migenes’ tenure extended from the production’s first preview on September 17, 1964, through April 1, 1967. Mimi Turque succeeded her in the role of Hodel.[7]
Migenes has been married four times. The first time was at age 18 to a singer whose identity remains unknown; the union was annulled two years later in 1963.
Her second marriage to Danjo Hotnik ended in divorce, but brought Migenes her first daughter, Martina (born circa 1975).[8]
In 1979, Migenes married Jervis Johnson, with whom she had a second daughter, Jessica Allegra (born 1981).[9]
She married Hungarian film director Peter Medak in 1988; they divorced in 2003.[6]
Migenes has been in a few TV shows including:[10]
Top C's and Tiaras (1983-84) Channel 4, UK: 6 episodes (plus 2 pilot episodes) of songs from operetta and musical theatre. Regular singers included Marilyn Hill Smith and Peter Morrison. Guest singers included Benjamin Luxon, Jean Bailey, Linda Ormiston, Jill Washington, Hugh Hetherington, Neil Jenkins, and Laurence Dale.