Curtis Mourns the Passing of Dorothy Krebill Karayanis (Voice '54)

The Curtis community mourns the loss of alumna and noted mezzo-soprano Dorothy Krebill Karayanis (Voice ’54), who passed away on August 3, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 94. Born on February 3, 1930, to a Mennonite family in Lee County, Iowa, Mrs. Karayanis attended the State University of Iowa, where she majored in voice and piano, and Curtis, where she received her graduate diploma in vocal studies and met her husband, Plato Karayanis (Voice ’56), the future general director of the Dallas Opera.

As Dorothy Krebill, she performed in the original Broadway productions of Saint of Bleecker Street by Gian Carlo Menotti (Composition ’33) and Candide by Leonard Bernstein (Conducting ’41) and spent eight years in Germany and Switzerland with her husband singing in regional opera companies in Europe, before touring with the Metropolitan Opera National Company.

Throughout her career, she made appearances with numerous opera companies across the U.S., performing roles with Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Philadelphia Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Cincinnati, and San Diego Opera, as well as the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Upon her retirement from singing, she served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Dallas and pursued her interests in calligraphy and bookbinding.

Our heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to Mrs. Karayanis’ friends, family, and loved ones. 

To read more about Dorothy Krebill Karayanis’ life and legacy read this tribute in the Dallas Morning News.

Photo credits: 1.) Banner image of Mrs. Karayanis courtesy of the Dallas Morning News. 2.) Image courtesy of the Dallas Opera. 3.) Dorothy and Plato Karayanis in the living room of their Santa Fe, New Mexico home; August 1, 2006, the Dallas Morning News.