(Plácido Domingo Embil; Madrid, 1941) Cantante de ópera español, uno los más destacados tenores del panorama operístico del siglo XX. A los pocos años de nacer se trasladó con su familia a Latinoamérica, donde sus padres, cantantes de zarzuela, tenían que realizar una gira en la compañía de Moreno Torroba. Finalizada la gira, en 1950 decidieron quedarse en México, donde se formaría el futuro tenorEl pequeño Plácido asistía a las funciones en que actuaban sus padres, por lo que el mundo de la música pronto se le hizo familiar. A los cinco años salió del teatro tarareando el intermedio de El caserío que acababa de escuchar. Mientras cursaba sus estudios primarios empezó a estudiar solfeo con el maestro Manuel Barajas y subió varias veces a interpretar papeles de niño en algunas obras. Aunque su voz todavía no estaba formada, comenzó a cantar zarzuelas como barítono.
Su temperamento le llevó, en los años siguientes, de una actividad a otra: fue jugador de fútbol, quiso ser torero, intervino en comedias musicales, acompañó a cantantes en salas de fiestas y recibió alguna que otra oferta para hacer cine. Su amigo Manuel Aguilar le sugirió que probase suerte en la ópera, y aunque pensaba que no tenía voz para ello, Plácido aprendió varias romanzas y dio una audición en la Academia de la Ópera de México.
Tras proseguir su formación en el Conservatorio de la capital azteca, en 1961 llegaría su debut como protagonista en Monterrey, en el papel de Alfredo en La Traviata; en ese momento comenzó una fulgurante carrera que le llevaría a los principales escenarios del mundo. El pianista hebreo mexicano José Cahan le informó que en el Teatro de la Ópera de Tel Aviv necesitaban un tenor, una soprano y un barítono; Plácido habló con su mujer, Marta Ornella (también cantante), y juntos marcharon a Israel el 21 de diciembre de 1962. Aunque el contrato era por seis meses, permanecieron dos años y medio. El tenor participó en 280 funciones y su esposa en 150, hasta que ella abandonó la carrera en favor de su marido y su familia. De la estancia de Plácido en Tel Aviv arranca su repertorio y su consolidación como tenor.
BIOGRAFIA.
Plácido Domingo is a world-renowned, multifaceted artist. Recognized as one of the finest and most influential singing actors in the history of opera, he is also a conductor and a major force as an opera administrator in his role as general director of two companies: LA Opera and Washington National Opera.
As a singer, his repertoire encompasses 134 roles, a number unmatched by any other tenor in history, with more than 3500 career performances. His more than 100 recordings of complete operas, compilations of arias and duets, and crossover discs include DG’s anthology of the complete Verdi arias for tenor and EMI’s albums of Wagnerian roles that he has not sung on stage: Siegfried in both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, and Tristan in a complete recording of Tristan und Isolde.
His work in the recording studio has earned him 12 Grammy Awards, three of which are Latin Grammys, and he has made more than 50 music videos. In addition to three feature opera films — Carmen, La Traviata and Otello — he voiced the role of Monte in Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua, played himself on The Simpsons, and his telecast of Tosca from the authentic settings in Rome was seen by more than one billion people in 117 different countries. His appearances around the world with his colleagues José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti in the now legendary The Three Tenors concerts are one of the great musical success stories of the 1990s.
He has conducted more than 450 opera performances and symphonic concerts with the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, LA Opera, Chicago Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, Montréal Symphony, National Symphony, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic, among others.
In 1993, he founded the international voice competition Operalia. He recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his debuts at the Met, La Scala and Verona.
During the past season he added the title role of Simon Boccanegra to his repertoire, with performances at the Met, La Scala, Covent Garden and in Madrid and Berlin. In August 2010, he added the title role in Rigoletto to his repertory in a concert performance in Beijing. He also performed the role in September for a performance of Rigoletto broadcast live on Italian TV from Mantua, where the opera is set; the performance will be shown on PBS during the 2011/12 season. For the 2010/11 season, his appearances include Pablo Neruda — his 134th role — in the world premiere of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino in Los Angeles (filmed for subsequent telecast and DVD release), with subsequent performances in Vienna and Paris, the title role in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac in San Francisco, and Oreste in Iphigenie en Tauride in Madrid, Washington DC and at the Metropolitan Opera.
He also celebrated his 70th birthday with a gala concert, arranged by the king and queen of Spain, in his native city of Madrid.
His many conducting engagements for the season include Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera, Le Nozze di Figaro in Los Angeles, and Madama Butterfly and Don Pasquale in Washington.
During the 2011/12 season, he will conduct Roméo et Juliette and sing the title role in Simon Boccanegra with LA Opera, and conduct Tosca at the Washington National Opera. Upcoming performances also include Neptune in The Enchanted Island at the Metropolitan Opera, where he will also conduct Madama Butterfly.
REPERTORIO.
1959
Rigoletto
Verdi; "Borsa"; 23-09-1959; Mexico City
Dialogues des Carmelites
Poulenc; "Chaplain"; 21-10-1959; Mexico City
1960
The Merry Widow
Lehàr; "Danilo/Camille"; 1960; Mexico City
Turandot
Puccini; "Altoum"; 11-09-1960; Monterrey
Turandot
Puccini; "Pang"; 01-10-1960; Monterrey
Lucia di Lammermoor
Donizetti; "Normanno"; 05-10-1960; Monterrey
La Traviata
Verdi; "Gastone"; 08-10-1960; Monterrey
Carmen
Bizet; "Remendado"; 15-10-1960; Monterrey
Otello
Verdi; "Cassio"; 17-10-1960; Monterrey
1961
La Traviata
Verdi; "Alfredo"; 19-05-1961; Monterrey
El Ultimo sueno
Vázquez; "Enrique"; 28-05-1961; Mexico City
Amelia goes to the ball
Menotti; "Lover"; 28.-06-1961; Mexico City
Fedora
Giordano; "Désire", "Baron Rouvel"; 02-07-1961; Mexico City
Boris Godunov
Mussorgsky; "Simpleton", "Shuisky"; 08-08-1961; Mexico City
Andrea Chenier
Giordano; "Abbé", "Incredibile"; 15-08-1961; Mexico City
Tosca
Puccini; "Spoletta"; 21-08-1961; Mexico City
Madama Butterfly
Puccini; "Goro"; 15-09-1961; Mexico City
Tosca
Puccini; "Cavaradossi"; 30-09-1961 Mexico City
1962
La Bohème
Puccini; "Rodolfo"; 04-03-1962; Mexico City
Cosi fan tutte
Mozart; "Ferrando"; 10-05-1962; Mexico City
Adriana Lecouvreur
Cilea; "Maurizio"; 17-05-1962; Mexico City
Trittico francescano
Refice; 01-10-1962; Guadalajara
Madama Butterfly
Puccini; "Pinkerton"; 07-10-1962; Torreón
Lucia di Lammermoor
Donizetti; "Edgardo"; 26-11-1962; Forth Worth
1963
Carmen
Bizet; "Don Jose"; 25-06-1963; Tel Aviv
Don Giovanni
Mozart; "Don Ottavio"; 21-09-1963; Tel Aviv
Faust
Gounod; "Faust"; 03-12-1963; Tel Aviv
1964
Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Bizet; "Nadir"; 21-01-1964; Tel Aviv
Eugene Onegin
Tchaikovsky; "Lenski"; 05-09-1964; Tel Aviv
1965
Cavalleria Rusticana
Mascagni; "Turiddu"; 21-01-1965; Tel Aviv
Samson et Dalila
Saint-Saens; "Samson"; 30-07-1965; Chautauqua
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Offenbach; "Hoffmann"; 07-09-1965; Mexico City
1966
Carlota, Severino & La Mulata de Córdoba
"Sandi", "Moreno", "Moncayo" (3 tenor roles); 01-01-1966; Barcelona
Don Rodrigo
Ginastera; "Don Rodrigo"; 22-02-1966; New York
Andrea Chénier
Giordano; "Andrea Chénier"; 03-03-1966; New Orleans
Hippolyte et Aricie
Rameau; "Hippolyte"; 06-04-1966; Boston
Pagliacci
Leoncavallo; "Canio"; 09-08-1966; New York
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Rossini; "Almaviva"; 16-09-1966; Guadalajara
Anna Bolena
Donizetti; "Lord Percy" 15-11-1966; New York
1967
Il Tabarro.
Puccini; "Luigi"; 08-03-1967; New York
Aida
Verdi; "Radames"; 11-05-1967; Hamburg
Don Carlo
Verdi; "Don Carlo" ; 19-05-1967; Vienna
Un Ballo in Maschera
Verdi; "Riccardo"; 31-05-1967; Berlin
1968
Lohengrin
Wagner; "Lohengrin"; 14-01-1968; Hamburg
Manon Lescaut
Puccini; "Des Grieux"; 15-02-1968; Hartford
Il Trovatore
Verdi; "Manrico"; 14-03-1968; New Orleans
1969
Rigoletto
Verdi; "Il Duca"; 02-01-1969; Hamburg
La Forza del Destino
Verdi; "Don Alvaro"; 18-01-1969; Hamburg
Manon
Massenet; "Des Grieux"; 20-02-1969; New York
Turandot
Puccini; "Calaf"; 16-07-1969; Verona
Ernani
Verdi; "Ernani" ; 07-12-1969; Milano
1970
Oberon
Weber; "Hüon"; 03-1970; Studio
La Gioconda
Ponchielli; "Enzo"; 14-05-1970; Madrid
Roberto Devereux
Donizetti; "Devereux"; 15-10-1970; New York
1971
Der Rosenkavalier
Strauss, R.; Italian Singer; 03-1971; Studio
I Lombardi
Verdi; "Oronte"; 07-1971; Studio
Luisa Miller
Verdi; "Rodolfo" (Photo); 04-11-1971; New York
1972
Giovanna d'Arco
Verdi; "Carlo VII"; 08-1972; Studio
Los Claveles
Serrano; "Fernando"; 1972; Studio
La Dolorosa
Serrano; "Rafael"; 1972, Studio
1973
Francesca da Rimini
Zandonai; "Paolo"; 22-03-1973; New York
L'Africaine
Meyerbeer; "Vasco da Gama"; 03-11-1973; San Francisco
1974
I Vespri Siciliani
Verdi; "Arrigo"; 09-04-1974; Paris
Mefistofele
Boito; "Faust"; 07-1974; Studio
Romщo et Julliette
Gounod; "Romщo"; 28-09-1974; New York
La Fanciulla del West
Puccini; "Dick Johnson" 26-11-1974; Turin
1975
La Navarraise
Massenet: "Araquil"; 1975; Studio
Otello
Verdi; "Otello"; 28-09-1975; Hamburg
1976
Gianni Schicchi
Puccini; "Rinuccio"; 1976; Studio
Louise
Charpentier; "Julien"; 1976; Studio
Macbeth
Verdi; "Macduff"
1976; Studio
Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg
Wagner; "Walther von Stolzing"; 03-1976 Studio
Le Cid
Massenet; "Don Rodrigue"; 08-03-1976; New York
L'Amore dei Tre Re
Montemezzi; "Avito"; 07-1976; Studio
1977
L'Elisir d'Amore
Donizetti; "Nemorino"; 1977; Studio
Fedora
Giordano; "Loris"; 15-02-1977; Barcelona
Werther
Massenet; "Werther"; 18-12-1977; Munich
1978
La Damnation de Faust
Berlioz; "Faust"; 01-1978; Studio
1979
Le Villi
Puccini; "Roberto"; 06-1979; Studio
Requiem
Berlioz; Tenor part; 06-1979; Studio
Beatrice et Benedict
Berlioz; "Benedict"; 07-1979; Studio
Il Giuramento
Mercadante; "Viscardo"; 09-09-1979; Vienna
1980
El Poeta
Moreno-Torroba; "José de Espronceda"; 19-06-1980; Madrid
1981
Norma
Bellini; "Pollione"; 21-09-1981; New York
1982
La Rondine
Puccini; "Ruggero"; 1982; Studio
Nabucco
Verdi; "Ismaele"; 05-1982; Studio
Con la soprano Maria Jose Martos.1983
Les Troyens
Berlioz; "Enée"; 26-09-1983; New York
1986
Die Fledermaus
Strauss, J.; "Alfred
Goya
Menotti; "Goya"; 15-11-1986; Washington
1988
Iris
Mascagni; "Osaka"; 1988; Studio
Tannhaeuser
Wagner; "Tannhaeuser"; 04-1988; Studio
1989
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Strauss, R.; "Der Kaiser"; 03-1989; Studio
1990
Man of La Mancha
Leigh; "Don Quixote"; 06-1990; Studio
1991
Der fliegende Holländer
Wagner; "Erik"; 02-1991; Studio
Parsifal
Wagner; "Parsifal" (Photo); 14-03-1991; New York
1992
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Rossini; "Figaro"; 02-1992; Studio
El Gato Montés
Penella; "Rafaele Ruiz"; 07-08-1992; Seville
Die Walküre
Wagner; "Siegmund"; 19-12-1992; Vienna
1993
Stiffelio
Verdi; "Stiffelio" (Photo); 21-10-1993; New York
1994
Dona Francisquita
Vives; "Fernando"; 02-1994; Studio
La Verbena de la Paloma
Breton; "Julian"; 04-1994; Studio
Il Guarany
Gomes; "Pery"; 05-06-1994; Bonn
Idomeneo
Mozart; "Idomeneo"; 01-10-1994; New York
Hérodiade
Massenet; "Jean"; 08.-11-1994; San Francisco
1995
Luisa Fernanda
Moreno Torroba; "Javier" (Photo); 1995; Studio
Simon Boccanegra (1881 version) Gabriele
Verdi; "Adorno"; 19-01-1995; New York
1996
La Tabernera del Puerto
Sorozabal; "Leandro"; 1996; Studio
1997
Simon Boccanegra (1857 version) Gabriele
Verdi; "Adorno"; 28-06-1997; London
Divinas Palabras
Garcia Abril; "Lucero"; 18-10-1997; Madrid
1998
Le Prophète
Meyerbeer; "Jean van der Leyden" (Photo); 21-05-1998; Vienna
Faust Symphony
Liszt; Tenor part; 06-1998; Studio
La Dolores
Bretón; "Lázaro"; 07-1998; Studio
1999
Das Lied von der Erde
Mahler; Tenor part; 02-1999; Studio
Misa Tango
Bacalov; Tenor part; 02-1999; Studio
Pique Dame
Tschaikowsky; "Hermann" (Photo); 18-03-1999; New York
Fidelio
Beethoven; "Florestan"; 06-1999; Studio
Merlin
Albéniz; "King Arthur"; 07-1999; Studio
Margarita la Tornera
Chapí; "Don Juan de Alarcón"; 11-12-1999; Madrid
2000
La Gran Via
Chueca, Valverde; "Caballero de Gracía"; 01-2000; Studio
The Merry Widow
Lehàr; "Danilo"; 17-02-2000; New York
La Battaglia di Legnano
Verdi; "Arrigo"; 30-06-2000; London
2001
La Revoltosa
Chapí; "Felipe"; 01-2001; Studio
2002
Sly
Wolf-Ferrari; "Christopher Sly"; 01-04-2002; New York
2003
Luisa Fernanda
Morena Torroba; "Vidal Hernando"; 18-06-2003; Milan
Nicholas and Alexandra
Drattel; "Rasputin"; 14-09-2003; Los Angeles
2004
Tristan und Isolde
Wagner; "Tristan"; 12-2004; Studio
2005
Cyrano de Bergerac
Alfano; "Cyrano"; 13-05-2005; New York
2006
The First Emperor
Tan Dun; "Emperor Qin"; 21-12-2006; New York
2007
Iphigenie en Tauride
Gluck; "Oreste"; 27-11-2007, New York
