The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Placido Domingo, the 80th anniversary of an opera legend

2021-01-20T09:38:19.107Z


A record career, the stain of the 'me too' scandal (ANSA) As an opera star he has trod the stages around the world for more than half a century, collecting over 150 first roles, to the successes in melodrama he added in the nineties the extraordinary transversal popularity conquered with the immortal arias of the nineteenth century masterpieces combined with the classics of Neapolitan song and evergreen pops thanks to the exploits of the Three Tenors tog


As an opera star he has trod the stages around the world for more than half a century, collecting over 150 first roles, to the successes in melodrama he added in the nineties the extraordinary transversal popularity conquered with the immortal arias of the nineteenth century masterpieces combined with the classics of Neapolitan song and evergreen pops thanks to the exploits of the Three Tenors together with Josè Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. An unmistakable voice also aimed at baritone roles, raising reservations among critics, and an alternating musical experience on the podium as conductor. Placido Domingo, one of the legendary figures of the opera, celebrates 80 years and a glorious career. But right in the tail of his long artistic career full of triumphs and awards, the Spanish tenor experienced the bitter page of the scandal, overwhelmed in August 2019 by the accusations of abuse and harassment launched against him by about twenty women for facts that would be which occurred since the end of the 1980s. In March 2020 he also had to deal with Covid: he was among the first characters in the world of entertainment to communicate the positivity to the virus and to undergo quarantine. José 'Plácido' Domingo Embil was born on January 21, 1941 in Madrid and has had a marked path in the field of music.


The father, Plácido Domingo Ferrer, was a baritone, the mother, Pepita Embil Etxaniz, a zarzuela singer. He moved to Mexico with them at the age of eight and began to hit the stage by acting in his parents' zarzuela company. After his studies at the Conservatory of Mexico City, in 1959 he entered the Mexican National Opera and made his debut as a baritone. Versatile artist, he collaborated with Mexican pop singers, was a pianist in TV programs, played small acting parts in various dramas. The turning point came in 1960 with the escalation as a tenor that would never stop: after his debuts in Mexico and the United States (in 1968 his first time at the Metropolitan) he was the protagonist of the masterpieces of melodrama. La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tosca, La Bohème, Carmen, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, among the most famous titles that have seen him over the years alongside female singing stars, from Renata Tebaldi to Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Montserrat Caballè, Shirley Verrett, Katya Ricciarelli, Raina Kabaivanska, and under the direction of the main masters, Karajan, Muti, Abbado, Kleiber, Barenboim, Levine, Metha. Beloved in Italy, he made his debut in 1969 at the Verona Arena with Turandot and at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan with Ernani. On the podium he made his 1973 debut at the New York City Opera with La traviata.


He was also the protagonist of film transpositions of works by Franco Zeffirelli and Francesco Rosi. Of the Three Tenors phenomenon - which exploded with the first triumphal concert at the Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the final of the Italia 90 world championships and ended in 2007 with the death of Pavarotti - he said: "Certainly some purists have criticized us, but it was an experience very positive. We had fun: a world opened up for many people who had never approached the opera and who then couldn't do without it ". In 1992 is the extraordinary worldwide television success of "Tosca, in the places and hours of Tosca", shot in Rome live between S.Andrea della Valle and Castel S.Angelo by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi in which he played the role of Mario Cavaradossi. It is curious that Placido Domingo started thinking about the end of his career at the age of 64. "The day I leave the stage is pretty close," he said at a press conference before a concert in Berlin. He was wrong, of course. Six years later, for his 70 springs, Madrid reserved an extraordinary concert for him at the Teatro Real which was attended, surprisingly, by Queen Sofia. "It is a great emotion - he confessed to journalists - I never thought I would reach 70 years singing: it is a privilege to make the audience happy. I decided that when I feel that I can't anymore, I will stop. But I don't want to leave. , the stage is my life. I set no limits. At 80? I don't know… ". He reached that milestone by continuing to perform and direct.


After the 'metoo' scandal, the tenor apologized, reiterating that he felt calm and that he had never abused or blackmailed to facilitate careers. Amid the crossfire of controversy, in September 2019 he left the Met Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, of which he had been general manager since 2003. "In a few days, half a century of his career was wiped out," he noted in a ' interview. The media storm that hit him was joined a few months later by Covid, from which he came out without consequences "after 40 terrible days", with the pandemic that has paralyzed all activities on a global scale and forced to cancel many shows in Italy and all abroad where it should have been the protagonist. This particular birthday falls, therefore, in a difficult moment for the giant of the opera but he does not give up and continues to look forward. After being among the 24 protagonists at La Scala of the extraordinary evening dedicated to opera on 7 December, in the coming months he is scheduled to perform in Austria, France, Russia, Germany. In Italy he is expected on May 16 in Piacenza to conduct Verdi's Requiem Mass and on July 30 at the Arena di Verona at the Domingo Opera Night, a gala to celebrate his record career


Source: ansa

All life articles on 2021-01-20

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-08T19:13:46.776Z

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.