On August 3, 2024, American mezzo-soprano Dorothy Krebill died at the age of 94 in Santa Fe.

Born on Feb. 3, 1930, to a Mennonite family in Lee County, Iowa, Karayanis attended the State University of Iowa. There, she studied voice and piano. She later went on to study at Curtis, where she received her graduate diploma in vocal studies.

Krebill went on to perform in the original Broadway productions of “Saint of Bleecker Street” by Gian Carlo Menotti and “Candide.” After that, she spent eight years in Germany and Switzerland singing in regional opera companies in Europe, before touring with the Metropolitan Opera National Company.

Kerbill also performed with many of the leading operatic companies including the Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Philadelphia Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Cincinnati, and San Diego Opera.

Among the roles the mezzo-soprano was well-known for included the title role of “Carmen,” Cherubino in Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Suzuki in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” and the title role in Benjamin Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia.”

Upon her retirement, she served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Dallas.

She was married to Plato Karayanis who died in 2022 and was a former Dallas Opera general manager.