PLACIDO DOMINGO
Name: Placido Domingo
Born: 21 January 1941
José Placido Domingo Embil KBE (born January 21, 1941) better known as
Placido Domingo, is a world-renowned operatic tenor, known for his versatile and
strong voice that possesses a ringing and clear tone throughout its range. He is
considered as one of the most talented and hardest working musicians with 129
roles in his repertoire (as of November 2007), more than any other tenor. He is
also admired for his operatic acting ability, his musicality and keen musical
intellect, and the impressive number and variety of opera roles that he has
mastered. In addition to his singing roles, he has also taken on conducting
opera and concert performances, as well as serving as the General Director of
the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. and the Los Angeles Opera in
California. His contracts in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. have been
extended through the 2010–2011 season.
Placido Domingo was born near the Barrio de Salamanca section of Madrid,
Spain, and moved to Mexico at age 8 with his family, who ran a zarzuela company.
Domingo was often asked to perform with his parent’s company when they needed a
child role. He studied piano at first privately and later at the National
Conservatory of Music in Mexico City.
In 1957, Domingo made his first professional appearance performing with his
mother in a concert at Mérida, Yucatán. At that time, he was working with his
parents' zarzuela company, taking parts in baritone roles and as an accompanist
with other singers. Among his first performances was a minor role in the first
Mexican production of My Fair Lady where he was also the assistant conductor and
assistant coach. The company made 185 performances which includes a production
of Lehar's The Merry Widow where he performed as either Camille or Danilo.
In 1959, Domingo went for audition at the Mexico National Opera for baritone
range but was then asked to to sight-read some arias and lines in the tenor
range. Finally he was accepted in the National Opera as a tenor comprimario and
as a tutor for other singers. He provided backup vocals for Los Black Jeans in
1958, a rock-and-roll band lead by César Costa. He learned piano and conducting,
but made his stage debut acting in a minor role in 1959 (May 12) at the Teatro
Degollado in Guadalajara as Pascual in Marina. It was followed by Borsa in
Rigoletto (with Cornell MacNeil and Norman Treigle also in the cast), Padre
Confessor (Le dialogue des Carmelites) and others.
In addition to that, he played piano for a ballet company to supplement his
income. Domingo also played piano for a program on Mexico cultural television
which was newly founded at that time. The program consisted of excerpts from
zarzuelas, operettas, operas, and musical comedies. He made few small parts
while at the teater such as plays by Federico García Lorca, Luigi Pirandello,
and Anton Chekhov.
In 1961, he made his operatic debut as a leading role as Alfredo in La Traviata
at Monterrey and later in the same year, his debut in the United States with the
Dallas Civic Opera where he played the role as Arturo in Donizetti's Lucia di
Lammermoor opposite Joan Sutherland as the title role. In 1962, he returned to
play the role as Edgardo in the same opera with Lily Pons. At the end of 1962,
he signed a 6 month contract with Hebrew National Opera in Tel Aviv but later
extended the contract and stay for two and a half years, singing 280
performances of 12 different roles.
In June 1965, after finishing his contract with Hebrew National Opera, Domingo
went for an audition at the New York City Opera and scheduled to make his New
York debut as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen but his debut came earlier when he was
offered to fill in for an ailing tenor at the last minute in Puccini's Madama
Butterfly. In June 17, 1965, Domingo made his New York debut as B.F Pinkerton at
the New York City Opera. In February 1966, he sang the title role in the US
premiere of Ginastera's Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera, with much
acclaim. The performance also marked as the opening of the City Opera's new home
at Lincoln Center.
He official debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York occurred on September 28,
1968 when he substituted Franco Corelli, in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur singing
with Renata Tebaldi. Before Adriana Lecouvreur, he had sung in performances by
the Metropolitan Opera of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci in 1966. Since then, he has opened the season at the Metropolitan
Opera 21 times, surpassing the previous record of Enrico Caruso by four. He
made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1967, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1968, at both La Scala and San Francisco Opera in 1969, and at Covent Garden
in 1971, and has now sung at practically every other important opera house and
festival worldwide. In 1971, he played the role Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's
Tosca at the Metropolitan opera and continued with the same role for many times.
He has played the role more than any other tenor.
Throughout the years, Domingo has also turned his hand to conducting opera (as
early as La Traviata on October 7, 1973, at New York City Opera) as well as,
occasionally, symphonic orchestras. In 1981 Domingo gained considerable
recognition outside of the opera world when he recorded the song "Perhaps Love"
as a duet with the late American country/folk music singer John Denver. In 1987,
he and Denver joined Julie Andrews for an Emmy Award winning holiday television
special, The Sound of Christmas, filmed in Salzburg, Austria.
On September 19, 1985, the biggest earthquake in Mexico's history devastated the
whole Mexican capital. Domingo's aunt, uncle, his nephew and his nephew’s young
son were killed in the collapse of the Nuevo León apartment block in the
Tlatelolco housing complex. Domingo himself labored to rescue survivors. During
the next year, he did benefit concerts for the victims and released an album of
one of the events.
Throughout 1990s until today, Domingo continued performing in many same and new
operas, among them Wagner’s Parsifal and Mozart’s Idomeneo as the title role,
Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia as Figaro, Wagner’s Die Walküre as Siegmund,
Lehár's The Merry Widow as Danilo and Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano.
From middle 1990 to 2006 only, Domingo has added 36 new roles to his repertoire.
Giving him even greater international recognition outside of the world of opera,
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, he participated in The Three Tenors
concert at the opening of the 1990 World Cup in Rome. The event was originally
conceived to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation
and was later repeated a number of times, including at the three subsequent
World Cup finals (1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama).
Alone, Domingo again made an appearance at the final of the 2006 World Cup in
Berlin.
He holds a world record for the longest ovation on the operatic stage with 101
curtain calls and 80 minutes non-stop applause after performing Otello, Verdi's
operatic version of Shakespeare's Othello, as the Moor of Venice in Vienna on
July 30, 1991. In 2006, Domingo recorded an album Italia Ti amo, dedicated
himself to Neapolitan and Italian songs, which include Stanislao Gastaldon’s "Musica
Prohibita" and the famous "Core N’Grato" by Salvatore Cardillo accompanied by
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Kohn.
In what has been called his 'final career move', Placido Domingo announced on
January 25, 2007 that in 2009 he would switch ranges to baritone by taking on
one of Verdi's most demanding baritone roles, as the Doge of Genoa, Simon
Boccanegra, in the opera of the same name.
Name: Placido Domingo
Born: 21 January 1941
José Placido Domingo Embil KBE (born January 21, 1941) better known as
Placido Domingo, is a world-renowned operatic tenor, known for his versatile and
strong voice that possesses a ringing and clear tone throughout its range. He is
considered as one of the most talented and hardest working musicians with 129
roles in his repertoire (as of November 2007), more than any other tenor. He is
also admired for his operatic acting ability, his musicality and keen musical
intellect, and the impressive number and variety of opera roles that he has
mastered. In addition to his singing roles, he has also taken on conducting
opera and concert performances, as well as serving as the General Director of
the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. and the Los Angeles Opera in
California. His contracts in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. have been
extended through the 2010–2011 season.
Placido Domingo was born near the Barrio de Salamanca section of Madrid,
Spain, and moved to Mexico at age 8 with his family, who ran a zarzuela company.
Domingo was often asked to perform with his parent’s company when they needed a
child role. He studied piano at first privately and later at the National
Conservatory of Music in Mexico City.
In 1957, Domingo made his first professional appearance performing with his
mother in a concert at Mérida, Yucatán. At that time, he was working with his
parents' zarzuela company, taking parts in baritone roles and as an accompanist
with other singers. Among his first performances was a minor role in the first
Mexican production of My Fair Lady where he was also the assistant conductor and
assistant coach. The company made 185 performances which includes a production
of Lehar's The Merry Widow where he performed as either Camille or Danilo.
In 1959, Domingo went for audition at the Mexico National Opera for baritone
range but was then asked to to sight-read some arias and lines in the tenor
range. Finally he was accepted in the National Opera as a tenor comprimario and
as a tutor for other singers. He provided backup vocals for Los Black Jeans in
1958, a rock-and-roll band lead by César Costa. He learned piano and conducting,
but made his stage debut acting in a minor role in 1959 (May 12) at the Teatro
Degollado in Guadalajara as Pascual in Marina. It was followed by Borsa in
Rigoletto (with Cornell MacNeil and Norman Treigle also in the cast), Padre
Confessor (Le dialogue des Carmelites) and others.
In addition to that, he played piano for a ballet company to supplement his
income. Domingo also played piano for a program on Mexico cultural television
which was newly founded at that time. The program consisted of excerpts from
zarzuelas, operettas, operas, and musical comedies. He made few small parts
while at the teater such as plays by Federico García Lorca, Luigi Pirandello,
and Anton Chekhov.
In 1961, he made his operatic debut as a leading role as Alfredo in La Traviata
at Monterrey and later in the same year, his debut in the United States with the
Dallas Civic Opera where he played the role as Arturo in Donizetti's Lucia di
Lammermoor opposite Joan Sutherland as the title role. In 1962, he returned to
play the role as Edgardo in the same opera with Lily Pons. At the end of 1962,
he signed a 6 month contract with Hebrew National Opera in Tel Aviv but later
extended the contract and stay for two and a half years, singing 280
performances of 12 different roles.
In June 1965, after finishing his contract with Hebrew National Opera, Domingo
went for an audition at the New York City Opera and scheduled to make his New
York debut as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen but his debut came earlier when he was
offered to fill in for an ailing tenor at the last minute in Puccini's Madama
Butterfly. In June 17, 1965, Domingo made his New York debut as B.F Pinkerton at
the New York City Opera. In February 1966, he sang the title role in the US
premiere of Ginastera's Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera, with much
acclaim. The performance also marked as the opening of the City Opera's new home
at Lincoln Center.
He official debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York occurred on September 28,
1968 when he substituted Franco Corelli, in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur singing
with Renata Tebaldi. Before Adriana Lecouvreur, he had sung in performances by
the Metropolitan Opera of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci in 1966. Since then, he has opened the season at the Metropolitan
Opera 21 times, surpassing the previous record of Enrico Caruso by four. He
made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1967, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1968, at both La Scala and San Francisco Opera in 1969, and at Covent Garden
in 1971, and has now sung at practically every other important opera house and
festival worldwide. In 1971, he played the role Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's
Tosca at the Metropolitan opera and continued with the same role for many times.
He has played the role more than any other tenor.
Throughout the years, Domingo has also turned his hand to conducting opera (as
early as La Traviata on October 7, 1973, at New York City Opera) as well as,
occasionally, symphonic orchestras. In 1981 Domingo gained considerable
recognition outside of the opera world when he recorded the song "Perhaps Love"
as a duet with the late American country/folk music singer John Denver. In 1987,
he and Denver joined Julie Andrews for an Emmy Award winning holiday television
special, The Sound of Christmas, filmed in Salzburg, Austria.
On September 19, 1985, the biggest earthquake in Mexico's history devastated the
whole Mexican capital. Domingo's aunt, uncle, his nephew and his nephew’s young
son were killed in the collapse of the Nuevo León apartment block in the
Tlatelolco housing complex. Domingo himself labored to rescue survivors. During
the next year, he did benefit concerts for the victims and released an album of
one of the events.
Throughout 1990s until today, Domingo continued performing in many same and new
operas, among them Wagner’s Parsifal and Mozart’s Idomeneo as the title role,
Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia as Figaro, Wagner’s Die Walküre as Siegmund,
Lehár's The Merry Widow as Danilo and Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano.
From middle 1990 to 2006 only, Domingo has added 36 new roles to his repertoire.
Giving him even greater international recognition outside of the world of opera,
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, he participated in The Three Tenors
concert at the opening of the 1990 World Cup in Rome. The event was originally
conceived to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation
and was later repeated a number of times, including at the three subsequent
World Cup finals (1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama).
Alone, Domingo again made an appearance at the final of the 2006 World Cup in
Berlin.
He holds a world record for the longest ovation on the operatic stage with 101
curtain calls and 80 minutes non-stop applause after performing Otello, Verdi's
operatic version of Shakespeare's Othello, as the Moor of Venice in Vienna on
July 30, 1991. In 2006, Domingo recorded an album Italia Ti amo, dedicated
himself to Neapolitan and Italian songs, which include Stanislao Gastaldon’s "Musica
Prohibita" and the famous "Core N’Grato" by Salvatore Cardillo accompanied by
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Kohn.
In what has been called his 'final career move', Placido Domingo announced on
January 25, 2007 that in 2009 he would switch ranges to baritone by taking on
one of Verdi's most demanding baritone roles, as the Doge of Genoa, Simon
Boccanegra, in the opera of the same name.