Curtin, Phyllis (nee Smith)

Curtin, Phyllis (nee Smith) , esteemed American soprano and teacher; b. Clarksburg, W.Va., Dec. 3, 1921. She studied at Wellesley Coll. (B.A., 1943) and received vocal instruction from Olga Avierino, Joseph Regnaeas, and Goldovsky. In 1946 she made her operatic debut as Lisa in The Queen of Spades with the New England Opera Theatre in Boston. Her recital debut followed in 1950 at N.Y/s Town Hall. On Oct. 22, 1953, she made her first appearance with the N.Y.C. Opera as Fraulein Burstner in Gottfried von Einem’s The Trial, where she remained on the roster until 1960; then returned in 1962, 1964, and 1975–76. She also made appearances at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires (1959), the Glyndebourne Festival (1959), the Vienna State Opera (1960–61), and at La Scala in Milan (1962). On Nov. 4, 1961, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Fiordiligi, remaining on its roster for the season; she returned for the 1966–70 and 1972–73 seasons. Her tours as a soloist with orchs. and as a recitalist took her all over the globe until her retirement in 1984. She taught at the Aspen (Colo) School of Music and the Berkshire Music Center in Tangle wood. After serving as prof. of voice at the Yale Univ. School of Music (1974–83), she was prof. of voice and dean of the school of the arts at Boston Univ. (from 1983); in 1992 she retired as its dean but continued to teach there. Curtin became well known for such roles as Mozart’s Countess, Donna Anna, Rosalinde, Eva, Violetta, Alice Ford, Salome, and Ellen Orford. She also created Floyd’s Susannah (1955) and Cathy in Wuthering Heights (1958).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire