Phyllis Curtin

Phyllis Curtin (née Smith; December 3, 1921 – June 5, 2016) was an American classical soprano who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She was known for her creation of new roles such as the title role in the Carlisle Floyd opera Susannah, Catherine Earnshaw in Floyd's Wuthering Heights, and in other works by this composer. She was a dedicated song recitalist and retired from singing in 1984. She was named Boston University's Dean Emerita, College of Fine Arts in 1991.

Born Phyllis Smith in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Curtin studied singing with Olga Averino at Wellesley College where she earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science. She pursued graduate studies in vocal performance under Boris Goldovsky at the New England Conservatory. In 1946 she made her professional opera debut with Goldovsky's opera company, the New England Opera Theater, as Tatyana in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. She took the surname Curtin from her first husband, whom she divorced after nine years.

She sang several other roles with the company over the next seven years, including Countess Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (1947). In 1950, Curtin performed in the inaugural year of the Peabody Mason Concerts in Boston. In 1953 Curtin joined the roster of principal sopranos at the New York City Opera at the invitation of . She made her debut with the company on October 22, 1953 portraying three roles (Fraulein Burstner, Frau Grubach, and Leni) in the United States premiere of Gottfried von Einem's The Trial.

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