Dallas mourns other half
RIPThe death has been communicated of the US mezzo-soprano Dorothy Krebill, widow of Plato Steven Karayanis, who was general director of the Dallas Opera for 23 years. Together, they made Dallas a home for fine singing, fine food and fine wines. Opera performances doubled under their leadership and the budget increased ninefold. Dorothy, who survived her husband by two years, was 94.
The Karayanis couple started out as American freelancers in German opera houses – did they ever reach out to quarter-Greek cousin Hebert von Karayanis? – and later in the Metropolitan Opera National Company until it shut down in 1967. They moved to Dallas in 1977.
Moving on from Dallas, they helped out Palm Beach Opera and the fledgling Opera San Antonio.
Lives of service, as the phrase goes.
Don’t get me wrong – I neither signed up for the political correctness agenda, nor virtue signalling, wokery or cutural appropriation fallacies. But to call this singer the ‘other half’ of someone else – an administrator to boot – when she is an artist in her own right seems grossly insulting, especially in an obituary, when she has no opportunity to bite back.
This is par for the course. Whoever writes for this site seems to go out of their way to offend or provoke people. They’re either clueless or childish.
Dorothy Krebill sang the title role in the first CARMEN I saw on stage. That was with the Met national company in the 1960’s.
Ms. Krebill can be heard as Violetta’s friend Flora in the RCA recording of LA TRAVIATA with Caballe, Bergonzi and Milnes.