Marianna Christos Kays
March 2, 1948 — April 15, 2006
Marianna Christos Kays, 58, passed away on Saturday April 15, 2006. She was born in Beaver, PA on March 2, 1948 to Helen Vlahakis Christy and the late George Christy.
A leading soprano with the New York City Opera for ten years, Marianna Christos performed many of operas heroines on the State Theater Stage; Liu in Turandot, her debut in 1975, Violetta in La Traviata, both Mimi and Musetta in La Boheme, Leila in Les Pecheurs de Perles, Antonia in Les Contes dHoffman, Margherita in Mephistopheles, Nedda in I Pagliacci, and Margherite in Faust. She also performed leading soprano roles to acclaim with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Company of Boston, The Washington Opera, The Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Opera,, as well as the Fort Worth, Memphis, New Orleans, Hawaii, and Atlanta opera companies.
Following a performance of the role of Gorislava in Ruslan und Ludmilla for the Opera Company of Boston, Time Magazine wrote of her, �" hers is a voice with both joy and heartbreak in it.
Following her graduation with honors from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and obtaining a Masters Degree in Voice from Carnegie Mellon, Ms. Christos began her professional career by placing second in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1975.
Her 1984 performance of Micaela in Bizets Carmen was featured on the nationally broadcast PBS series Live from Lincoln Center direct from the stage of the New York City Opera. In 1986, Ms. Christos toured Israel with the New York City Opera as Mimi in La Boheme, and the following year toured as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly in that companys national tour.
Since her retirement from singing, Ms. Christos kept a busy schedule teaching voice in both her New York City and Stamford, CT studios. She also presented Master Classes in music schools and opera workshops throughout the U.S.
In addition to her mother, she is survived by her husband, Alan Kays of Stamford; a son, Nicholas Alan Kays of Stamford; a sister, Elaine Myrback of Tampa, FL; and two brothers, Michael Christy of California, and Stephen Christy of Tampa, FL.
A Memorial Mass will be held at First Congregational Church of Stamford, 1 Walton Place, Stamford, on Monday April 24, 2006 at 11:00 AM with Rev. Gary Brown officiating. There will be no calling hours.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Mariannas name to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 51 Locust Street, Suite 201, New Canaan, CT 06840. Arrangements are being handled by the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford, CT. www.cognetta.com
A leading soprano with the New York City Opera for ten years, Marianna Christos performed many of operas heroines on the State Theater Stage; Liu in Turandot, her debut in 1975, Violetta in La Traviata, both Mimi and Musetta in La Boheme, Leila in Les Pecheurs de Perles, Antonia in Les Contes dHoffman, Margherita in Mephistopheles, Nedda in I Pagliacci, and Margherite in Faust. She also performed leading soprano roles to acclaim with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Company of Boston, The Washington Opera, The Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Opera,, as well as the Fort Worth, Memphis, New Orleans, Hawaii, and Atlanta opera companies.
Following a performance of the role of Gorislava in Ruslan und Ludmilla for the Opera Company of Boston, Time Magazine wrote of her, �" hers is a voice with both joy and heartbreak in it.
Following her graduation with honors from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and obtaining a Masters Degree in Voice from Carnegie Mellon, Ms. Christos began her professional career by placing second in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1975.
Her 1984 performance of Micaela in Bizets Carmen was featured on the nationally broadcast PBS series Live from Lincoln Center direct from the stage of the New York City Opera. In 1986, Ms. Christos toured Israel with the New York City Opera as Mimi in La Boheme, and the following year toured as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly in that companys national tour.
Since her retirement from singing, Ms. Christos kept a busy schedule teaching voice in both her New York City and Stamford, CT studios. She also presented Master Classes in music schools and opera workshops throughout the U.S.
In addition to her mother, she is survived by her husband, Alan Kays of Stamford; a son, Nicholas Alan Kays of Stamford; a sister, Elaine Myrback of Tampa, FL; and two brothers, Michael Christy of California, and Stephen Christy of Tampa, FL.
A Memorial Mass will be held at First Congregational Church of Stamford, 1 Walton Place, Stamford, on Monday April 24, 2006 at 11:00 AM with Rev. Gary Brown officiating. There will be no calling hours.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Mariannas name to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 51 Locust Street, Suite 201, New Canaan, CT 06840. Arrangements are being handled by the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford, CT. www.cognetta.com
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