Plcido Domingo

Spanish operatic tenor, international music celebrity, conductor, music director and humanitarian, awarded Mexico's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Aztec Eagle for his heroic work during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. Handsome, dark good looks and his magnificent grand physical command have helped Domingo achieve fame as a prolific and versatile opera artist with over 50 complete recorded operas. He sings up to 65 performances of 20 different roles a year. His musical talents were nurtured by his parents, Spanish zarzuela stars from Madrid. In 1946 when Domingo was a young boy, his parents left him, his sister and aunt in Spain to tour Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba under zarzuela composer, conductor, Federico Moreno Torroba. Taken by the beauty and hospitality of the Mexican culture, in 1949 his parents decided to settle in Guadalajara and form their own zarzuela company. At eight, Domingo, his sister and aunt rejoined their parents in Mexico and his musical tutelage began with voice and piano lessons. In his teens, he sang in the chorus of his family's zarzuela troupe. The family company achieved success from determination and hard work after many setbacks. Domingo studied in the Mexico City Conservatory and played piano in nightclubs for experience. He loved sports and played baseball and soccer for the Mexico City Conservatory sport teams. He toyed with idea of a career as a bull fighter. At 16, he married a fellow conservatory pianist and his son, Jose was born in 1958. Knowing he needed to support his young family, Domingo joined the National Opera in Mexico City at the age of 18. His stage debut in a major role was on 9/23/1959 in Mexico City, singing Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto. In 1962, Domingo auditioned for the Tel Aviv opera that turned into the role of the lead tenor. His charismatic stage presence became increasingly noticed in the mid 1960s when he expanded his career playing diverse opera roles in French, Italian and German around the world's opera stages. In 1967, Domingo met the man who would be his operatic rival on the international scene. Luciano Pavarotti and Domingo met at a canteen table near the Vienna State Opera. At the time, Pavarotti was the leading Italian opera tenor, concentrating on Italian roles and signed exclusively with Decca records. Domingo remained more flexible with varied roles and recording with many music labels from the time of his first studio recordings in August 1968. He frequently changed his agents. The two great tenors had their debuts at the Met within weeks of one another in the fall of 1968. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, media journalists routinely painted them as operatic competitors on the world stage. Domingo's warm voice caressed the arias and interpreted the most complex heavy opera orchestrations. He opened his musical gifts to a wider audience by appearing in television shows, opera films by Franco Zeffirelli and recording with popular artists like John Denver. He gained an even greater audience by performing with Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras in the commercially successful "Three Tenor Concert" in Rome, Italy in 7/07/1990. While singing his favorite roles around the world, such as Alfredo, Don Jose, Otello, Rodolfo, and Hoffmann, Domingo has added the baton and podium to his repertoire. He conducts and is the artistic director of the Los Angeles Opera and in 1996, became the artistic director of the Washington Opera, raising $2.6 million on one fund-raising evening. As a further example of his versatility, he oversees an upscale Spanish restaurant in Upper East Side New York City. Domingo maintains a heavy workload which his detractors believe has left him overexposed and very overextended. His international fans continue to purchase his recordings and he continues to draw many to the opera houses. After the end of his first marriage, Domingo met Marta Ornelas, star soprano of the Mexican National Opera. They married on 8/01/1962 and had two sons, Placido in 1965 and Alvaro in 1968. Domingo is considered an affectionate family man who tries to balance his time with work and family. An outgoing personality with interests in many projects, he is balanced by his wife, Marta as she tries to counsel her husband and protect him from the limelight. As in his teens, Domingo continues his passion for soccer and keeps up with world news events. Many of his fellow performers admire his musical gifts and regard his modest personality as refreshing on the world stage. A team player with other singers, his cooperative style is appreciated by conductors and directors. Domingo's heroic tenor roles are not limited to stage. Tragedy struck his family during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. He lost his aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin's infant son in the disaster. After hearing the news, Domingo and Marta flew to Mexico City on 9/22/1985 at 5:30 A.M. to help rescue workers dig out victims of the quake. Domingo was emotionally and physically shaken by the tragedy but continued to do whatever needed to be done to help the people of Mexico City. Even though he keeps his Spanish citizenship, he holds close ties to Mexico and he raised $2 million for the Mexico City disaster fund. He was honored by the president of Mexico with its highest honor, the Order of the Aztec Eagle for his humanitarian work. Domingo uses his celebrity profile and Latino heritage to help build bridges into the Latino community of Los Angeles. He is an inspiration to many young Latinos in developing their musical gifts. In 1973, Domingo made his conducting debut in the opera house. His autobiography was published in 1983, "My First Forty Years." On 9/02/1993, a new star was added to the Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.On October 13, 2009 he received the first Birgit Nilsson award valued at $1 million. The prize was in recognition of his contributions to the world of opera. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum