Plácido Domingo

The year 2011 can rightly be called the "Domingo Year": On the one hand, the "most important artist of our time" (The Guardian) celebrates his 50th stage anniversary as well as his 70th birthday – on January 21, 2011. Domingo, born in Madrid in 1941 and raised in Mexico, is the child of Zarzuela singers. After his stage debut in 1959 in a small supporting role in Rigoletto in Mexico City, Domingo celebrated his actual leading role debut 50 years ago: in 1961 as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata in Monterrey, Mexico. His first international success came in 1966 with his portrayal of the title role in Alberto Ginastera's El Cid opera Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera. This was the prelude to a career in which he would study no fewer than 134 (!) leading roles. He did not limit himself to Italian and French (and even Russian) repertoire, but also impressed with outstanding performances as Wagner's Lohengrin, Siegmund, Parsifal (on stage) as well as Siegfried and Tristan (on CD), took on baroque music roles (including Handel), distinguished himself in numerous world premieres, and most recently triumphed as the title hero in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra (Berlin and London), temporarily switching to the baritone fach. The live recording of the spectacular London performance will be released on DVD in November 2010. As if that weren't enough, Domingo also effortlessly crossed the boundaries of "serious music," singing crossover repertoire and numerous Zarzuela roles – parts of the Spanish form of operetta – with equal conviction, and celebrated true triumphs with Carreras and Pavarotti as one of the Three Tenors, true to the motto: If you can really sing, you can sing anything. Parallel to his singing career, Domingo pursued a career as a conductor. He made his conducting debut in the 1973/74 season at the New York City Opera with "La Traviata." Further proof of his versatility is his role as an opera intendant: Domingo has been Artistic Director of the Washington Opera since 1996 and also took over the Artistic Direction of the Los Angeles Music Center Opera in the summer of 2000. There are now well over 100 CDs by Plácido Domingo. For EMI Classics, he has recorded, among other things, 13 complete opera recordings. Some CDs document Plácido Domingo in a dual role as conductor & tenor. But crossover releases also complete his extensive discography. For example, Domingo recorded Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Requiem" with Sarah Brightman under the direction of Lorin Maazel. The New York premiere of this work with the same cast was broadcast worldwide in 1984. Domingo's album "100 Years of Mariachi" (1999) – a CD of Mexican traditionals – won a "Grammy" in the "Best Mexican-American Performance" category in February 2000. Domingo has since received a total of 11 Grammy Awards and 2 Latin Grammy Awards. "Songs of Love," a selection of tracks from Domingo's "De mi alma latina (From My Latin Soul)" Vol.1 & 2 as well as "Be my Love" (both albums sold more than a million copies worldwide), was released in January 2001 for Domingo's 60th birthday, which was celebrated, among other things, with a large Domingo Gala at the New York Met. Domingo's collection of Mexican, Cuban, and Dominican songs ("Quiéreme Mucho") also entered the German classical charts in 2002. A celebrated concert in Berlin's Waldbühne with the young star violinist Sarah Chang was broadcast live by 3SAT in July 2001. Domingo conducted the Berlin Philharmonic here. – released as a live recording on the CD "Fire & Ice." – With Ponchielli's "La Gioconda," EMI Classics presented a spectacular new recording in spring 2003: The role of Enzo – a showpiece for every dramatic tenor since Caruso – has been one of Plácido Domingo's most successful roles worldwide for decades. After a career spanning more than 45 years, Domingo filled a major gap in his Wagner repertoire in 2005 with a complete recording of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." This was preceded by two successful CDs with Deborah Voigt and Violeta Urmana, respectively, featuring scenes from Wagner's Ring. The Tristan recording, which also brings together outstanding singers such as Nina Stemme, René Pape, Ian Bostridge, Olaf Bär, and Rolando Villazón under the baton of Antonio Pappano, made recording history. The recording received, among other awards, one of the most important Italian prizes, the "Musica & Dischi Critics Award," as well as the "Premio del Disco" in the "Best Opera Recording" category from the Italian classical magazine "Amadeus," and also received the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 4/2005" (Category: Opera) and the "Wagner Award" from the Académie du Disque Lyrique. Furthermore, the recording was honored with an "ECHO Klassik 2006" in the "Opera Recording of the Year" category (19th-century opera). At the Classical Brit Awards 2006, Domingo was honored with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his life's work. Plácido Domingo, one of the world's most beloved, sought-after, and renowned musical personalities of our time, is married to opera director Marta Ornelas and has 2 sons. Status: October 2010