P. de Domingo; Singer, Opera Star’s Mother

Pepita Embil de Domingo, known as Mexico’s “Queen of the Zarzuela” and the mother of opera tenor Placido Domingo, has died in Mexico City. She was 76.

Mrs. Embil de Domingo, who was born in Spain but lived in Mexico for 40 years, died Aug. 28 of a liver ailment, the opera star’s publicist Nancy Seltzer said.

She and her late husband, Placido Domingo Ferrer, were stars of the zarzuela, a three-century-old form of opera in which music is intertwined with dialogue. They toured the world promoting it as an art form.

Mrs. Embil de Domingo, a soprano, began singing with a Basque choral group in Spain and met her husband, a baritone, when both were asked to sing “Sor Navarra.” They fell in love with Mexico City and moved there permanently in 1946.

The couple founded an 80-member operetta company and performed many zarzuelas written especially for them. She also was host of a Mexican television program called “Anthologia de Zarzuela.”

She and her husband, who died in 1987, encouraged the young Placido to take piano lessons, and guided his musical education and early career.

In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Mari Pepa Sanchez, and several grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to Friends of Mexican Development Foundation, Lerma Housing and Clinic Project, 165 East 72nd St. Suite 1B, New York, N.Y., 10021.