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José Plácido Domingo Embil tic Tenor . He is known for his versatile and strong voice that possesses a ringing and clear tone throughout its range. He is also admired for his operatic acting ability, his 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, DC and the Los Angeles Opera in California.


BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Plácido Domingo was born in the Barrio de Salamanca section of , and moved to Mexico at age 8 with his family, who ran a Zarzuela company. In Mexico City he studied music at the National Conservatory. 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. He made his operatic debut acting as a leading role at Monterrey as ''Alfredo'' in La Traviata and then in 1962 spent 2 and a half years with the Israel National Opera in Tel Aviv , singing 280 performances of 12 different roles.

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 Concert s for the victims and released an album of one of the events.

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.


Family

Born to Plácido Domingo Sr and Pepita Embil, two Spanish Zarzuela stars who are undoubtedly have been responsible for nurturing his early musical abilities. In 1962, Plácido Domingo married with Marta Ornelas, a lyric Soprano whom he met during his conservatory days. They have two sons, Plácido Jr born in 1965 and Alvaro Maurizio born in 1968. http://www.placidodomingo.com/inhalt.php?menu_level=2&id_kunden=196&id=552 Domingo has another son, José http://www.placidodomingo.com/inhalt.php?menu_level=2&id_kunden=196&id=551 from his first marriage in 1958 at age 16.


Premiere performances and breadth of roles

'' , Washington D.C. 2005]]
In 1966, he sang the title role in the US premiere of Ginastera 's '' Don Rodrigo '' at the New York City Opera , with much acclaim. He first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on September 28 , 1968 , in Cilea 's '' Adriana Lecouvreur '', singing with Renata Tebaldi . (Since then, he has opened the season there 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.

Perhaps the most versatile of all living tenors, Domingo has sung 124 roles onstage to date http://www.placidodomingo.com/inhalt.php?menu_level=2&id_kunden=196&id=550 (and as many as 128 roles when also counting recorded roles), ranging from Mozart to Ginastera . His main repertoire however is Italian ('' Otello '', '' Il Trovatore '', '' Don Carlo ''), French ('' Faust '', '' Werther '', Don José in '' Carmen '', Samson in '' Samson Et Dalila ''), and German ('' Lohengrin '', '' Parsifal '', and Siegmund in '' Die Walküre ''). He continues to add more operas to his repertoire, such as recently Tan Dun 's '' The First Emperor '' at the Metropolitan Opera in New York .


Other achievements


  • On July 30 , 1991, he performed in ''Otello'', Verdi's operatic version of Shakespeare 's '' Othello '', as the Moor of Venice in Vienna . After 101 curtain calls, the applause had lasted 80 minutes non-stop - a world record.



  • In 1993 he also founded '' Operalia '', an important international competition for young opera singers.



  • Domingo has been instrumental in giving many young artists encouragement, (and special attention) as in 2001, when he invited New York tenor, Daniel Rodriguez to attend the Vilar/Domingo Young Artists program to further develop his operatic skills.


  • Domingo supports the '' Hear the World '' initiative as an ambassador to raise awareness for the topic of hearing and hearing loss.



Three Tenors

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 .


Performances on film

:See List Of Domingo's Opera Recorded Performances

Domingo has appeared in numerous opera Film s, among them:

He has also appeared on television in the 1978 La Scala production of Puccini's '' Manon Lescaut '' which marked the Scala debut of Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass , as well in Zarzuela evenings, and ''Live at the Met'' telecasts and broadcasts.


Recordings

: See List Of Recordings By Plácido Domingo

He has made well over 100 Recordings , most of which are full-length operas, often recording the same role more than once. Among these recordings is a boxed set of every tenor aria Verdi ever wrote, including several rarely-performed versions, in different languages from the original operas, which Verdi wrote for specific performances.

In 's '' Tristan Und Isolde '' in which Domingo sings the title role of Tristan. A review of this recording, headlined "Vocal perfections", that appeared in the August 8 , 2005 issue of '' The Economist '' begins with the word "Monumental" and ends with the words, "a musical lyricism and a sexual passion that make the cost and the effort entirely worthwhile". It characterized his July 2005 performance of Siegmund in Wagner's '' Die Walküre '' at Covent Garden as "unforgettable" and "luminous". The review also remarks that Domingo is still taking on roles that he has not previously performed.

New recordings that have been released in the first half of 2006 include studio recordings of Puccini 's '' Edgar '', Isaac Albéniz 's ''Pepita Jiménez'', as well as a selection of Italian and Neapolitan Songs , titled ''Italia ti amo'' (all three with Deutsche Grammophon).

Amongst many television appearance in many countries over the years (a large number for charitable purposes), Domingo appeared as the star act in the New Orleans Opera Association's ''A Night For New Orleans'' with Frederica Von Stade and Elizabeth Futral , in March 2006. The concert was to raise funds for the rebuilding of the city.


REPERTOIRE

From the first performance until today, Domingo has a repertoire of 128 roles onstage and studio (124 roles onstage 124th roles ); not including 3 roles that he played at the same time in 1966. Below is his complete repertoire from 1959 until 2007.http://www.placidodomingo.com/inhalt.php?menu_level=2&id_kunden=196&id=830 The list is sorted by chronological order; year, opera title, composer, role, debut date and city or location.


2. Dialogues Des Carmélites - Poulenc ; "Chaplain"; 21-10-1959; Mexico City


4. Turandot - Puccini ; "Altoum"; 11-09-1960; Monterrey

5. Turandot - Puccini ; "Pang"; 01-10-1960; Monterrey

6. Lucia Di Lammermoor - Donizetti ; "Normanno" ; 05-10-1960; Monterrey

7. La Traviata - Verdi ; "Gastone"; 08-10-1960; Monterrey

8. Carmen - Bizet ; "Remendado" ; 15-10-1960; Monterrey

9. Otello - Verdi ; "Cassio"; 17-10-1960; Monterrey


11. El Ultimo sueno - Vázquez; "Enrique"; 28-05-1961; Mexico City

12. Amelia goes to the ball - Menotti ; "Lover"; 28.-06-1961; Mexico City

13. Fedora - Giordano ; "Désire", "Baron Rouvel"; 02-07-1961; Mexico City

14. Boris Godunov - Mussorgsky ; "Simpleton", "Shuisky" ; 08-08-1961; Mexico City

15. Andrea Chenier - Giordano ; "Abbé", "Incredibile" ; 15-08-1961; Mexico City

16. Tosca - Puccini ; "Spoletta"; 21-08-1961; Mexico City

17. Madama Butterfly - Puccini; "Goro"; 15-09-1961; Mexico City

18. Tosca - Puccini ; "Cavaradossi"; 30-09-1961 Mexico City


20. Cosi Fan Tutte - Mozart ; "Ferrando"; 10-05-1962; Mexico City

21. Adriana Lecouvreur - Cilea ; "Maurizio"; 17-05-1962; Mexico City

22. Trittico francescano - Refice; 01-10-1962; Guadalajara

23. Madama Butterfly - Puccini ; "Pinkerton" ; 07-10-1962; Torreón

24. Lucia Di Lammermoor - Donizetti ; "Edgardo" ; 26-11-1962; Fort Worth

  • 1963

    • 25. Carmen - Bizet ; "Don José" ; 25-06-1963; Tel Aviv

26. Don Giovanni - Mozart ; "Don Ottavio"; 21-09-1963; Tel Aviv

27. Faust - Gounod ; "Faust"; 03-12-1963; Tel Aviv


29. Eugene Onegin - Tchaikovsky ; "Lenski" ; 05-09-1964; Tel Aviv


31. Samson Et Dalila - Saint-Saens ; "Samson" ; 30-07-1965; Chautauqua

32. Les Contes D'Hoffmann - Offenbach ; "Hoffmann" ; 07-09-1965; Mexico City

  • 1966

    • 33. Carlota, Severino & La Mulata de Córdoba - "Sandi", "Moreno", "Moncayo" (3 tenor roles); 01-01-1966; Barcelona

34. Don Rodrigo - Ginastera; "Don Rodrigo" ; 22-02-1966; New York

35. Andrea Chénier - Giordano ; "Andrea Chénier" ; 03-03-1966; New Orleans

36. Hippolyte Et Aricie - Rameau ; "Hippolyte" ; 06-04-1966; Boston

37. Pagliacci - Leoncavallo ; "Canio" ; 09-08-1966; New York

38. Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Rossini ; "Almaviva"; 16-09-1966; Guadalajara

39. Anna Bolena - Donizetti ; "Lord Percy" 15-11-1966; New York


41. Aida - Verdi ; "Radames" ; 11-05-1967; Hamburg

42. Don Carlo - Verdi ; "Don Carlo" ; 19-05-1967; Vienna

43. Un Ballo In Maschera - Verdi ; "Riccardo" ; 31-05-1967; Berlin


45. Manon Lescaut - Puccini ; "Des Grieux" ; 15-02-1968; Hartford

46. Il Trovatore - Verdi ; "Manrico" ; 14-03-1968; New Orleans


48. La Forza Del Destino - Verdi ; "Don Alvaro"; 18-01-1969; Hamburg

49. Manon - Massenet ; "Des Grieux"; 20-02-1969; New York

50. Turandot - Puccini ; "Calaf"; 16-07-1969; Verona

51. Ernani - Verdi ; "Ernani" ; 07-12-1969; Milano


53. La Gioconda - Ponchielli ; "Enzo" ; 14-05-1970; Madrid

54. Roberto Devereux - Donizetti ; "Devereux" ; 15-10-1970; New York


56. I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata - Verdi ; "Oronte"; 07-1971; Studio

57. Luisa Miller - Verdi ; "Rodolfo" ; 04-11-1971; New York


59. Los Claveles - Serrano; "Fernando"; 1972; Studio

60. La Dolorosa - Serrano; "Rafael"; 1972, Studio


62. L'Africaine - Meyerbeer ; "Vasco da Gama"; 03-11-1973; San Francisco


64. Mefistofele - Boito ; "Faust"; 07-1974; Studio

65. Roméo Et Juliette - Gounod ; "Roméo"; 28-09-1974; New York

66. La Fanciulla Del West - Puccini ; "Dick Johnson" 26-11-1974; Turin


68. Otello - Verdi ; "Otello" ; 28-09-1975; Hamburg


70. Louise - Charpentier ; "Julien"; 1976; Studio

71. Macbeth - Verdi ; "Macduff" ; 1976; Studio

72. Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg - Wagner ; "Walther von Stolzing"; 03-1976 Studio

73. Le Cid - Massenet ; "Don Rodrigue" ; 08-03-1976; New York

74. L'amore Dei Tre Re - Italo Montemezzi ; "Avito"; 07-1976; Studio


76. Fedora - Giordano ; "Loris" ; 15-02-1977; Barcelona

77. Werther - Massenet ; "Werther" ; 18-12-1977; Munich



80. Requiem - Berlioz ; Tenor part; 06-1979; Studio

81. Béatrice Et Bénédict - Berlioz ; "Bénédict"; 07-1979; Studio

82. Il Giuramento - Mercadante ; "Viscardo" ; 09-09-1979; Vienna

  • 1980

    • 83. El Poeta - Torroba ; "José de Espronceda"; 19-06-1980; Madrid

  • 1981

    • 84. Norma - Bellini ; "Pollione"; 21-09-1981; New York


86. Nabucco - Verdi ; "Ismaele" ; 05-1982; Studio

87. Les Troyens - Berlioz ; "Enée" ; 26-09-1983; New York


89. Goya - Menotti ; "Goya" ; 15-11-1986; Washington

91. Tannhäuser - Wagner ; "Tannhäuser"; 04-1988; Studio




95. Parsifal - Wagner ; "Parsifal" ; 14-03-1991; New York


97. El Gato Montés - Penella; "Rafaele Ruiz" ; 07-08-1992; Seville

98. Die Walküre - Wagner ; "Siegmund" ; 19-12-1992; Vienna


  • 1994

    • 100. Dona Francisquita - Vives; "Fernando"; 02-1994; Studio

101. La Verbena de la Paloma - Tomás Bretón ; "Julian"; 04-1994; Studio

102. Il Guarany - Carlos Gomes ; "Pery" ; 05-06-1994; Bonn

103. Idomeneo - Mozart ; "Idomeneo" ; 01-10-1994; New York

104. Hérodiade - Massenet ; "Jean" ; 08.-11-1994; San Francisco

105. Luisa Fernanda - Torroba ; "Javier" ; 1995; Studio

106. Simon Boccanegra (1881 version) Gabriele - Verdi ; "Adorno" ; 19-01-1995; New York

  • 1996

    • 107. La Tabernera del Puerto - Pablo Sorozábal ; "Leandro"; 1996; Studio


109. Divinas Palabras - Garcia Abril; "Lucero"; 18-10-1997; Madrid


111. Faust Symphony - Liszt ; Tenor part; 06-1998; Studio

112. La Dolores - Tomás Bretón ; "Lázaro"; 07-1998; Studio


114. Misa Tango - Bacalov; Tenor part; 02-1999; Studio

115. Pique Dame - Tschaikowsky ; "Hermann" ; 18-03-1999; New York

116. Fidelio - Beethoven ; "Florestan"; 06-1999; Studio

117. Merlin - Albéniz ; "King Arthur"; 07-1999; Studio

118. Margarita la Tornera - Chapí ; "Don Juan de Alarcón"; 11-12-1999; Madrid

  • 2000

    • 119. La Gran Via - Chueca, Valverde; "Caballero de Gracía"; 01-2000; Studio

120. The Merry Widow - Franz Lehár ; "Danilo"; 17-02-2000; New York

121. La Battaglia Di Legnano - Verdi ; "Arrigo"; 30-06-2000; London

  • 2001

    • 122. La Revoltosa - Chapí ; "Felipe"; 01-2001; Studio


  • 2003

    • 124. Luisa Fernanda - Torroba ; "Vidal Hernando"; 18-06-2003; Milan

125. Nicholas and Alexandra - Deborah Drattell ; "Rasputin"; 14-09-2003; Los Angeles






AWARDS AND HONORS

Domingo has received numerous awards and honors, including:


Grammy Award

  • 1971 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for Verdi: Aida

  • 1974 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for G. Puccini: La Bohème

  • 1983 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for Verdi: La Traviata

  • 1984 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for Bizet: Carmen

  • 1984 - ''Best Latin Pop Performance'' for Always in my Heart (Siempre en mi corazon)

  • 1988 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for Wagner: Lohengrin

  • 1990 - ''Best Classical Vocal Performance'' for Carreras-Domingo-Pavarotti in Concert

  • 1992 - ''Principal Soloist for Best Opera Recording'' for Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten

  • 2000 - ''Best Mexican-American Performance'' for 100 years of Mariachi



Latin Grammy Award

  • 2000 - ''Best Classical Album'' for T. Breton: La Dolores

  • 2001 - ''Best Classical Album'' for I. Albéniz: Merlin



Government and organization honors

France
  • Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur

  • Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur

  • Commandeur Arts et Lettres

  • Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris

  • Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur – March 2002


Spain
  • Isabel la Católica

  • Premio Prinicipe de Asturias de las Artes - 1991

  • Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil – September 2002


USA
  • Kennedy Center Honors – December 2000

  • The presendential Medal of Freedom – July 2002


Austria
  • Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst 1. Klasse

  • Kammersänger und Ehrenmitglied der Wiener Staatsoper

  • Goldenes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um das Land Wien – 2007


Other countries
  • Aguila Azteca (Mexico)

  • Capo dell’Ordine "Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" Grande Ufficiale (Italy)

  • Grã Cruz da Ordem do Infante d’Henrique (Portugal)

  • Cavalliere di Malta (Malta)

  • Knight Commander of the British Empire (Great Britain) – October 2002

  • Order of the Cedars (Lebanon) - 2004


NPO
  • Unicef Socio de Honor (UNICEF)



Honorary Doctorate

  • Royal Northern College of Music, England (1982)

  • Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, USA (1982)

  • Oklahoma City University, USA (1984)

  • Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain (1989)

  • University of New York, USA (1990)

  • Georgetown University, USA (1992)

  • Washington College of Chestertown, USA (2000)

  • Anáhuac University, Mexico (2001)

  • Chopin Music Academy, Poland (2003)

  • Oxford University, England (2003)



Other entertainment awards and appreciation

  • A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – 1993 (Location: Domingo, Placido LT 7000 Hollywood Blvd)

  • Sociedad General de Autores Española (''Best Lyric Singer of the Year 1997'') for his role in the world premiere of "Divinas Palabras" - 1997

  • Association of Argentinian Music Critics (''Best Male Singer in 1997'') for “Samson and Dalila" - 1997

  • Baltika Grand Prix for Outstanding Achievement - June 1998

  • American Latina Media Arts (ALMA) Awards (O''utstanding Performances By An Individual or Act in A Variety'') - 1998

  • Hispanic Heritage Award for Arts - September 1999

  • Great Prize of the International Music Press - September 2000

  • The Ella Award - 2002

  • Classical BRIT Awards - 2006 (''Critics' Award'' for '' Tristan And Isolde '' and ''Lifetime Achievement Award'')http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_BRIT_Awards#2006



Others

  • On August 21 , 2007 , as recognition to his support to 1985 Mexico City Earthquake victims as well as his artistic works, a statue in his honor, made in Mexico City from keys donated by the people, was unveiled. The statue is the work of Alejandra Zúñiga, is two meters tall, weighs about 300 kg (660 lbs) and is part of the "Grandes valores" (Great values) program. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/gente/Mexico/rinde/homenaje/Placido/Domingo/estatua/bronce/elpepugen/20070821elpepuage_1/Tes



TRIVIA


  • A false rumour circulating on the Internet states that he used to be enemies with José Carreras, and that in spite of that he created a Hermosa Foundation to help Carreras in his treatments against leukemia, because humanity could not afford to lose such a voice.

  • Domingo lost relatives in the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake . He spent several days in the ruins of the collapsed Tlatelolco housing development collaborating with rescue personnel. His efforts were instrumental at the time to bring even more visibility to the plight of Mexicans who had suffered the effects of the disaster.



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