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124-683: Opera in Washington, DC had become established after World War I and it did flourish for a time as the Washington National Opera Association until the Depression and World War Two years, and into the 1960s in various outdoor opera venues. However, with the establishment of the Opera Society of Washington in 1956–57, the way was laid for a company to function in the city, especially after the opening of

248-762: A Mantova  [ it ] . Over the course of decades, he has sung in numerous Live from the Metropolitan Opera telecasts and Met radio broadcasts . He has also appeared often in televised performances from other opera houses. In 1978, he starred in the La Scala production of Puccini's Manon Lescaut that marked the house debut of Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass . In addition, many of his concerts and zarzuela evenings have been televised. Beyond his filmed opera and concert performances, he has frequently made guest appearances on television. Domingo appeared on The Cosby Show Season 5 as Alberto Santiago,

372-585: A Song (1983), Save Your Nights for Me (1985), and the British gold record, Be My Love (1990). His English-language version of " Bésame Mucho " from My Life for a Song received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Performance in 1984. The following year he won a Grammy in the same category for his collection of Ernesto Lecuona songs, Always in My Heart ( Siempre en mi corazón ) . (He won

496-440: A baritone role. At that time, he was working with his parents' zarzuela company, eventually taking several baritone roles and acting as an accompanist for other singers. The following year, the tenor in another company's touring production of Luisa Fernanda fell ill. In his first performance as a tenor, Domingo replaced the ailing singer, although he feared the part's tessitura was too high for him. Later that same year, he sang

620-600: A bill was sponsored and passed in 2000 in the US Congress "designating the company as America's 'National Opera' ". The change of name to Washington National Opera was announced in February 2004. Washington National Opera originally announced plans to perform Der Ring des Nibelungen , a cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner , entitled The American Ring , in November 2009. However, in early November 2008 in view of

744-427: A colleague of Dr. Cliff Huxtable. In 1989, the international television series Return Journey featured Domingo returning to his home city of Madrid reflecting on life there whilst recording an album of Zarzuela arias for EMI. On the 1993 Academy Awards telecast, he performed the song, " Beautiful Maria of My Soul ," from the movie The Mambo Kings , which had received a nomination for Best Original Song . The tenor

868-405: A conductor at major opera houses around the world. In late 1983, he led a performance of Johan Strauss 's Die Fledermaus at Covent Garden, which was televised. Three years later, he made a studio recording of the operetta , in which he both conducted and sang the role of Alfred. The 1980s were a time of growing success and fame for Domingo. In 1981 he gained considerable recognition outside of

992-545: A crossover artist, especially in the genres of Latin and popular music . In addition to winning fourteen Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards , several of his records have gone silver, gold, platinum and multi-platinum . His first pop album, Perhaps Love (1981), spread his fame beyond the opera world. The title song , performed as a duet with country and folk singer John Denver , has sold almost four million copies and helped lead to numerous television appearances for

1116-519: A few operas by the composer, he did not perform any of Wagner's works frequently onstage until he debuted as Parsifal in 1991 and Siegmund in 1992. He continued to sing these roles for almost two decades, including at the Bayreuth Festival . For the first time in over three decades, Domingo debuted in a Mozart opera, Idomeneo , in 1994 at the Met. During the nineties, he also appeared in

1240-613: A few small parts while at the theater in plays by Federico García Lorca , Luigi Pirandello , and Anton Chekhov . He also provided song arrangements and backup vocals for Los Camisas Negras in the late 1950s, a rock-and-roll band led by César Costa . In his autobiography, Domingo reflected on the benefits of his busy and varied career as a teenager: "Today, when people ask me how I manage to hold up under my extremely heavy work load, I answer that I became accustomed to intense activity very early in my life and that I love it now as I loved it then." In 1961, Domingo made his operatic debut in

1364-670: A few years later. Shifting musical styles again, he appeared in the eighteenth-century operas Iphigénie en Tauride and Tamerlano late in the decade. Additionally, Domingo created several new roles in modern operas, such as the title role in Tan Dun 's 2006 opera The First Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera , which was broadcast worldwide into movie theaters as part of the Met Live in HD series. In September 2010, he created

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1488-750: A leading role as Alfredo in La traviata at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Monterrey . Later the same year, he made his debut in the United States with the Dallas Civic Opera , where he sang the role of Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor opposite Joan Sutherland in the title role and Ettore Bastianini as Enrico. In 1962, he returned to Texas to sing the role of Edgardo in the same opera with Lily Pons at

1612-567: A new position in charge of all income, both earned and contributed. In 1996 to 2000 she became Executive Director until she retired in 2000. From 1987 to 2001, working under both Feinstein and Domingo, Edward Purrington became Artistic Administrator "at the time..(when the company).. was in the midst of a dramatic expansion. By 1995, The (Washington) Post reported, seats at the Kennedy Center were "almost as scarce" as football tickets, and "usually cost more." This expansion took place during

1736-528: A new public and, beginning with the first production of Die Entführung on 31 January 1957, the company presented opera in George Washington University 's Lisner Auditorium, albeit a small venue with limited facilities. However, as one critic noted: "There was no 'company' in the literal sense. Each production had to be conceived, planned, and arranged individually, and financial support had to be scraped up opera by opera. Improvisation

1860-552: A number of operas, as well as for several concert performances. He has now sung at practically every important opera house and festival worldwide. Domingo first sang Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca in a 1961 performance in Mexico City. He sang Cavaradossi at the Met on 15 February 1969 with Nilsson (broadcast). 1971 he made his Covent Garden debut in the role. He continued to sing the part for many years, especially at

1984-651: A performance of the production was telecast on PBS' Great Performances at the Met . Giving him greater international recognition outside of the world of opera, Domingo participated in The Three Tenors concert on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup final in Rome with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti . The event was originally conceived to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation and

2108-671: A period of time living in Israel, Domingo and his growing family moved to Teaneck, New Jersey , in the 1960s. He later acquired residences in Manhattan and Barcelona. Keeping his apartment in New York, he currently also has a house in his native Madrid. During breaks in his work schedule, he usually spends time with family at his vacation home in Acapulco , Mexico. In March 2010 he underwent surgery for colon cancer . In July 2013, he

2232-589: A production of Mozart 's Die Entführung aus dem Serail which would be performed following the end of their summer season (which Calloway conducted) by the Washington Symphony Orchestra. Characteristic of Thorpe and Callaway's early years was a rejection of cuts to the scores, a rejection of opera in English translation, and a rejection of expensive scenery as well as of "fat sopranos" and "self-centered tenors". The pair set out to seek

2356-506: A second Grammy the same year for Carmen under the baton of Lorin Maazel .) In 2012, he recorded Songs with Josh Groban , Susan Boyle , and jazz singer Harry Connick, Jr. , among others. In 2015, he released a holiday album, My Christmas including duets with Idina Menzel , Jackie Evancho , Plácido Domingo Jr. , The Piano Guys and others. Since the early 1980s, Domingo has released several Latin albums, including two featuring

2480-864: A sexual passion that make the cost and the effort entirely worthwhile". The review also characterized Domingo's July 2005 performance of Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre at Covent Garden as "unforgettable" and "luminous". More recently Domingo has appeared with Angela Gheorghiu on a recording of Fedora , an opera in which he often appeared onstage, and as the baritone in a live version of Giovanna d'Arco with Anna Netrebko. In September 2011, aged 70, he signed an exclusive record contract with Sony Classics. In addition to his classical recordings, Domingo has released numerous crossover albums. His output of non-operatic recordings accelerated after his pop album, Perhaps Love (1981), went gold and eventually platinum. His other recordings of popular music include My Life for

2604-685: A successful tour of Latin America. Soon after arriving in Mexico, Domingo won a singing contest for boys, and his parents occasionally recruited him and his sister for children's roles in their zarzuela productions. Domingo studied piano from a young age, at first privately and later at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, which he entered when he was fourteen. At the conservatory, he also attended conducting classes taught by Igor Markevitch and studied voice under Carlo Morelli,

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2728-534: A teenager, he first appeared in very small parts on the Spanish-language original cast versions of the musicals My Fair Lady (1959) and Redhead (1960). In 1968, he released his first solo album, Recital of Italian Operatic Arias (also known as Bel Canto Domingo ). The album, conducted by Nello Santi , received the Grand Prix du Disque . In 1969, Domingo's first recital album for RCA Red Seal

2852-695: The Siegfried Wanderer roles at the Met in New York in December 1961 and January 1962, he was ready to sing his first complete Ring Cycle . This was to be the now legendary new production mounted by Wieland Wagner at the Cologne Opera in West Germany in May 1962. Wieland Wagner was ready to try out new singers and production ideas in advance of his new Bayreuth Festival production which

2976-553: The 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, "El Mundial". A lifelong football fan, Domingo has been a vocal supporter of Real Madrid C.F. , his home-town team. In 2002, he performed the club's new commemorative anthem, "Himno del Centenario del Real Madrid". It was written by José María Cano , with whom he had previously collaborated on the opera, Luna . Domingo presented the song live at the Bernabeu Stadium during celebrations of

3100-500: The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final in Berlin, along with rising stars Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón . Before the 2014 FIFA World Cup final , he performed in Rio de Janeiro with pianist Lang Lang and soprano Ana María Martínez , a winner of his Operalia competition and a frequent singing partner of his. In addition to these large-scale concerts, Domingo recorded the official song for

3224-790: The Bayreuth Festival as Amfortas in Parsifal , and reappeared frequently in the 1950s and early 1960s as Amfortas and in the title role of The Flying Dutchman . He made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1951 as Amonasro in Aida , and sang over 270 performances, both baritone and bass roles, such as Figaro and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro , The Speaker in The Magic Flute , Mandryka in Arabella , Scarpia in Tosca ,

3348-500: The Best Opera Recording of the year. Domingo has also made various opera films for television, including Jean-Pierre Ponnelle 's Madama Butterfly with Mirella Freni , Gianfranco de Bosio's Tosca with Raina Kabaivanska , Giuseppe Patroni Griffi 's Tosca with Catherine Malfitano ( Emmy Award ), Franco Zeffirelli 's Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci , and more recently, Marco Bellocchio 's Rigoletto

3472-809: The Fort Worth Opera . It would be the soprano's final operatic performance. That November Domingo sang the second tenor role of Cassio to Mario del Monaco 's celebrated Otello in Hartford , Connecticut. At the end of 1962, he signed a six-month contract with the Israel National Opera in Tel Aviv , but later extended the contract and stayed for two and a half years, singing 280 performances of 12 different roles. In June 1965, after finishing his contract in Tel Aviv, Domingo auditioned at

3596-645: The Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo for the album. Four years after their first successful concert, around 1.3 billion viewers worldwide watched their televised second World Cup performance at Dodger Stadium . The recording of that event, The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 , went platinum and multi-platinum in many countries, even reaching the number one spot on the UK Albums Chart . Without Pavarotti and Carreras, Domingo made an appearance at

3720-789: The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. She met her husband at age 21 while performing in Federico Moreno Torroba 's Sor Navarra . Domingo later recalled that experts encouraged his father to sing Wagnerian heldentenor roles, while the Liceu offered his mother a contract to sing opera. In 1946 Moreno Torroba and Domingo's parents formed a zarzuela company and toured in Latin America. His parents later stayed permanently in Mexico and established their own zarzuela troupe,

3844-727: The Los Angeles Opera since 2000. He assumed the position of General Director of the company in 2003. On 20 September 2010, he announced that he would renew his contract as General Director through 2013. A week later he announced that he would not renew his contract as General Director of the Washington National Opera beyond its June 2011 expiration date. Reaction to this included The Washington Post ' s comments on his accomplishments: Domingo attempted to quash criticism in East Coast newspapers that he

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3968-825: The Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1968; at both La Scala and San Francisco Opera in 1969; at Arena di Verona on 16 July 1969 as Calaf (his first) in Turandot with Birgit Nilsson ; at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in 1970; and at Covent Garden in 1971. In 1975, Domingo debuted at the prestigious Salzburg Festival , singing the title role in Don Carlo in an all-star cast with Nicolai Ghiaurov , Piero Cappuccilli , Mirella Freni and Christa Ludwig with Herbert von Karajan conducting. Thereafter Domingo frequently returned to Salzburg for

4092-719: The Metropolitan Opera , he appeared for the first time as Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La Traviata . The following year, he sang Giacomo in Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco in Salzburg. Later in 2014, he debuted as the Conte di Luna in Il trovatore in Berlin. The following season, he sang di Luna again at the Salzburg Festival with Anna Netrebko as Leonora, Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Azucena and Francesco Meli as Manrico. He first sang

4216-626: The Metropolitan Opera , took over the helm with the aim of giving it a "businesslike foundation" "it never had in its sixteen years, in spite of the excellent productions it has often achieved". One early success was a production of Kurt Weill 's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny with the composer's widow, Lotte Lenya , in attendance. She described it as "the best production she has ever seen". Other significant productions followed, but, in summing up Strasfogel's success, author Mary Jane Phillips-Matz concludes that "his main achievement, though,

4340-553: The Metropolitan Opera . His initiative began a Washington Opera tradition of cultivating young talent. Singers nurtured through the program include Vyacheslav Polozov , Jerry Hadley and Denyce Graves , while in 1992, he brought recently retired Berlin State Opera maestro Heinz Fricke to the Washington Opera as music director. 1984-1996 Patricia Fleischer Mossel become Director of Development, Marketing, and P.R.,

4464-708: The New York City Opera . He was hired to make his New York debut as Don José in Bizet 's Carmen with the company, but his debut came earlier than expected on 17 June 1965 when he filled in for an ailing tenor at the last minute in Puccini 's Madama Butterfly . In February 1966, he sang the title role in the U.S. premiere of Ginastera 's Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera, to much acclaim. The New York Times review noted: "Mr. Domingo

4588-560: The Opera Society of Washington by Day Thorpe, the music critic of the now defunct Washington Star , but then the most influential Washington newspaper of its day. Paul Callaway , the choirmaster and organist of the Washington National Cathedral , was its first music director. Together, the two set out to seek funding and they found support from Gregory and Peggy Smith who provided $ 10,000 as seed money for

4712-607: The Red Square in Moscow , with Anna Netrebko , Juan Diego Florez and Aida Garifullina and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev . Domingo was born to Plácido Francisco Domingo Ferrer (8 March 1907 – 22 November 1987) and Josefa "Pepita" Embil Echániz (28 February 1918 – 28 August 1994), two Spanish zarzuela stars who nurtured his early musical abilities. Domingo's father

4836-456: The 1970s through the early years of the next century. Starting with Il tabarro in 1970, Les Troyens 1983 and ending with Edgar in 2006, Domingo has recorded all of Puccini's operatic roles for tenor. Among his albums is a box set of every major tenor aria Verdi composed, including several obscure and rarely performed versions in languages different from the original operas, and written only for specific performances. He has also recorded

4960-548: The 1980s with his introduction in 1984 of the Canadian Opera Company 's surtitles system, whereby an English translation appeared above the proscenium arch. Also while under Strasfogel's tenure, the Opera Society made its move into the newly opened Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1972. This was to have a profound impact on the company, especially since George London, after retirement from

5084-464: The 1980s. After gaining experience acting for the cameras in numerous televised operas, Domingo performed in his first cinematically released opera movie, La Traviata , in 1982. He had worked with the film's director, former Academy Award nominee Franco Zeffirelli , previously in staged opera productions. Even as filming continued in Rome, he commuted back and forth to perform live in Vienna, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Madrid. In 1984, Domingo filmed

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5208-516: The American Opera Initiative also commissions emerging composers to write new operas and in recent years has commissioned works by Carlos Simon , Nicolas Lell Benavides , Gity Razaz , and Frances Pollock. Following the departure of Plácido Domingo as General Director at the end of the 2010-2011 season, the Kennedy Center took control of the opera company effective on 1 July 2011. In the announcement, then-Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser saw cost and personnel savings, plus other advantages in

5332-401: The Bridge , G.F. Handel 's Tamerlano , and Richard Strauss ' Elektra . During the following season Gaetano Donizetti 's Lucrezia Borgia and Benjamin Britten 's Peter Grimes were given, while the 2009-2010 season featured Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Ambroise Thomas ' Hamlet . In May 2012 the Washington premiere of Verdi's Nabucco took place, directed by

5456-416: The Domingo-Embil Company. In addition to their son, they also had a daughter, Maria José "Mari Pepa" Domingo de Fernandez (1942–2015). On 29 August 1957 at age 16, Domingo married a fellow piano student, Ana María Guerra Cué (1938–2006). Their son, José Plácido Domingo Guerra (called "Pepe" as a boy and later "Joe"), now a photographer, was born on 16 June 1958. However, the marriage did not last long, with

5580-466: The Great Recession, the company announced that the full cycle had been postponed. While the first three operas of the tetralogy have already been produced during the previous WNO seasons ( Das Rheingold in 2006, Die Walküre in 2007, and Siegfried in 2009), the fourth opera, Götterdämmerung , was given in a concert performance in November 2009. During the 2007/08 season, WNO produced three rarely staged operas: William Bolcom 's A View from

5704-409: The Kennedy Center in 1971 and its move there in 1979. After making initial appearances with the company from 1986 onwards, tenor Plácido Domingo took over as general director in 1996, a post which he held until June 2011, after which the company, which was undergoing financial problems, came under the auspices of the Kennedy Center administration. Washington National Opera was established in 1957 as

5828-521: The Los Angeles Opera, saying he did so with a "heavy heart", but in light of the recent allegations against him, he said the move was in the best interest for the opera company. In late February 2020, Domingo apologized to any colleagues who felt uncomfortable or in any way hurt by his comments or actions. He reiterated that it was never his intention to hurt or offend anyone, saying, "I have never behaved aggressively toward anyone, and I have never done anything to hinder or harm anyone's career in any way. On

5952-480: The Met and in Vienna, eventually performing it more than any other of his roles. In September 1975, Domingo debuted in the title role of Verdi's Otello at the Hamburg State Opera . It soon became his signature role and one of operas he performed most frequently (over 200 times). He recorded the part three times in the studio and appeared in four officially released filmed versions of the opera. Oscar-winning Shakespearean actor, Laurence Olivier , declared after seeing

6076-511: The Met in March 1965, he canceled his upcoming appearances at the Bayreuth Festival to rest and ideally recover his voice. However, his vocal decline continued so severely that by March 1966, he performed his last appearance at the Metropolitan Opera: the role of Amfortas in Parsifal . London subsequently received injections of Teflon in his paralyzed vocal cord – then the state-of-the-art treatment for this condition – which filled it out and therefore restored his voice to some extent. But he decided

6200-402: The Metropolitan Opera at Lewisohn Stadium in Mascagni 's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo 's Pagliacci . Since then, he has opened the season at the Metropolitan Opera 21 times, more than any other singer, surpassing the previous record of Enrico Caruso by four. He has appeared with the company every season since 1968–1969. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1967; at

6324-402: The Metropolitan Opera paid tribute to Domingo's 40th and the company's 125th anniversaries with a gala performance and onstage dinner. On 29 August 2009, he sang " Panis angelicus " at the funeral mass of Senator Ted Kennedy in the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston , Massachusetts. In March 2011, Domingo cancelled an engagement in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colón in support of

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6448-439: The Metropolitan Opera's opening night performance of Bellini 's Norma . It was the first time onstage that the tenor sang the part of Pollione, one of his rare excursions into the bel canto repertory. He was also set to open the Met's 1983-1984 centennial season debuting as Enée in a well publicized new production of Berlioz ' Les Troyens , but a couple months in advance expressed uncertainty whether he could successful sing

6572-497: The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. A recording of a live concert with piano accompaniment is also available from VAI, which includes Mussorgsky 's Songs and Dances of Death , as well as several Schubert Lieder and a variety of songs in English. During his Met career, in 1956, he appeared on Ed Sullivan 's television program in an abridged version of act 2 of Tosca , opposite Maria Callas , conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos . A kinescope of that performance

6696-513: The Palacio de Bellas Artes in a production with veteran American baritone Cornell MacNeil and bass-baritone Norman Treigle . He later appeared as the Padre Confessor in Dialogues of the Carmelites , Altoum and Pang in Turandot , Normanno and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor among other small parts. While at the National Opera, he also appeared in a production of Lehár 's operetta , The Merry Widow , in which he alternated as Camille and Danilo (both originally created as tenor roles, although

6820-435: The Potomac" However, there was not always such clear sailing, and the company was to experience a series of ups and downs in the first few years of the 1960s. Initially, there was further success: bringing Igor Stravinsky to Washington was the work of Bliss Herbert, then the Artistic Administrator of the Santa Fe Opera who had been involved in that company's early years when the composer regularly visited Santa Fe. However,

6944-535: The brother of Renato Zanelli . The two brothers were famous practitioners of both baritone and tenor roles. Domingo's conservatory classes constituted the entirety of his formal vocal instruction; he never studied privately with a singing teacher. In 1957, at age sixteen, Domingo made his first professional appearance, accompanying his mother on the piano at a concert at Mérida, Yucatán . The same year he made his major zarzuela debut in Manuel Fernández Caballero 's Gigantes y cabezudos  [ es ] , singing

7068-486: The challenging opera. The New York Times noted that the now more mature artist "lacked the chrome-plated, penetrating quality that one associates with German tenors", but praised him for bringing "an unusual legato grace to a role that is seldom sung so beautifully". He also performed the role at the Vienna State Opera in 1985 and 1990. A performance during his last run of the opera was televised on 28 January 1990 and later released on VHS and DVD. He had just recovered from

7192-400: The city's first Thaïs in 1976, another of George London 's major achievements was the renaming of the company, first announced in The Washington Post on 13 May 1977. As described by Phillips-Matz, "at this point in the company's history, the programming was smart, varied, and exciting" but progress was suddenly brought to a halt by the July 1977 heart attack suffered by George London. He

7316-501: The company announced the appointment of Spano as its next music director, effective with the 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of three seasons. Notes Sources Pl%C3%A1cido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer , conductor , and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, German, Spanish, English and Russian in

7440-465: The company announced the extension of Zambello's contract as artistic director for an additional 3 years, and the appointment of Evan Rogister as its new principal conductor, with immediate effect, with an initial contract through the 2021-2022 season. Rogister is scheduled to stand down as principal conductor of the company at the close of the 2024-2025 season. In 2021, Robert Spano first guest-conducted at Washington National Opera. In February 2024,

7564-481: The company" during the period up to 1977 and, by that date, another new face made a short but dramatic appearance in the company's history: bass-baritone George London became general manager. Taking over as general manager in 1967 was Richard Pearlman , under whose tenure were staged well-received productions of The Turn of the Screw , La bohème , and the first production of Barber's Vanessa . By 1972 Ian Strasfogel, with considerable experience from working at

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7688-474: The composer); and a December 1961 The Magic Flute which resulted in an invitation from President John F. Kennedy at the White House for some excerpts from the opera. By this time, the attention of the national press had been caught. A December 1958 Newsweek full-page article on the company was headlined "Sparkle on the Potomac", and Howard Taubman of the New York Times visited regularly, followed by headlines reading "Capital Revival" and "Sparkle on

7812-562: The contrary, I have spent much of my half-century in the opera world supporting the industry and furthering the careers of countless singers." The investigation launched by the Los Angeles Opera into the incidents at the house "deemed the allegations to be credible, in part because of the similarities in their accounts". The investigation "often found him to be sincere in his denials but found some of them to be less credible or lacking in awareness". The investigation criticized inadequate communication and lack of awareness about sexual harassment at

7936-617: The couple separating shortly thereafter. On 1 August 1962, Domingo married Marta Ornelas (born 1935), a lyric soprano from Veracruz , Mexico, whom he met during his conservatory days. In the same year, Marta had been voted "Mexican Singer of the Year". After their marriage, the couple performed together frequently at the Israel National Opera. However, after she became pregnant with her first child, she gave up her promising career to devote time to her family. They have two sons, Plácido Francisco (known as Plácido Domingo Jr. ), born 21 October 1965, and Alvaro Maurizio, born 11 October 1968. After

8060-416: The day of the performance. The company asked Domingo to replace him at 4 p.m. He quickly flew from New York to San Francisco, rushed to the opera house, and appeared in the role at 10:30 in the evening. A writer for the San Francisco Chronicle , among other journalists, reported extensively on the event. He observed the crowds gathering around the stage door for the tenor's arrival and remarked on how most of

8184-436: The early Verdi opera, Stiffelio , the Brazilian Il Guarany , and the French grand operas , Hérodiade and Le prophète , all of which are rarely performed. Toward the end of the decade, he added his first Russian-language opera, Tchaikovsky 's The Queen of Spades (although he had performed Eugene Onegin in translation while in Israel early in his career). In the 2000s, he sang his last performances of some of

8308-590: The first Stravinsky production – The Rake's Progress – was "the most "ill-starred" opera in the Society's history", largely the result of singers' illnesses. But a later double bill of Stravinsky conducting Le Rossignol (along with Schoenberg's Erwartung ) was a triumph. However, as the 1960s progressed, further disasters were to follow. These included "a fiasco of unforgivable proportions", an English-language The Magic Flute which caused Paul Callaway's resignation. Some drastic measures were called for. Three new faces were to bring "imagination and flair to

8432-433: The first concert of the newly reorganized Dallas Symphony Orchestra . Due to travel difficulties, Székely was unable to arrive in time, so Doráti called upon young George London as a substitute. After performing widely with tenor Mario Lanza and soprano Frances Yeend as part of the Bel Canto Trio in 1947–48, London was engaged by the Vienna State Opera , where he scored his first major success in 1949. In 1950, he sang

8556-496: The first time he sang the baritone role of the Cenobite monk Athanaël in Massenet 's Thaïs , his 139th role. Again, in 2011 he undertook the role of Rigoletto in a live television broadcast in Europe which was shot in real locations in Mantua . He appeared as Doge Francesco Foscari in Verdi's I due Foscari in a production directed by Thaddeus Strassberger for the Los Angeles Opera in September 2012, in Valencia in early 2013, and at Covent Garden in late 2014. In March 2013, at

8680-421: The flu at the time. On 19 September 1985 the biggest earthquake in Mexico's history devastated part of the Mexican capital. Domingo's aunt, uncle, nephew and his nephew's young son were killed in the collapse of the Nuevo León apartment block in the Tlatelolco housing complex. Cancelling several performances, Domingo himself labored to rescue survivors. During the next year, he performed benefit concerts for

8804-466: The football club's 100 year anniversary. On 13 May 2012, Domingo performed during Real Madrid's season-ending celebrations, when the team won their 32nd Spanish league title. In 2016 he sang the new version of Real Madrid's " Hala Madrid y nada más " with "...Y Nada Mas." On 24 August 2008, Domingo performed a duet with Song Zuying , singing Ài de Huǒyàn (The Flame of Love) at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing. The Beijing Olympics

8928-569: The improvement did not let him achieve again his self-imposed highest standards. He therefore ended his singing career in 1967, at 46. In 1971, London established the George London Foundation for Singers, which gives grants to young opera singers early in their careers. $ 80,000 is given each year to the winners of an annual competition. In 1975, he directed the first Ring Cycle produced by Seattle Opera , creating its "Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival". From 1975 until 1977 he

9052-567: The latter is often sung by baritones). Domingo made his debut in Verdi's Otello at Béllas Artes at age 21 in the summer of 1962 not in the title rôle for which he has now been internationally famous for decades as one of its greatest interpreters, but in the small comprimario part of Cassio. To supplement his income, the young Domingo played the piano for a ballet company, as well as for a program on Mexico's newly founded cultural television station. The program consisted of excerpts from zarzuelas, operettas , operas, and musical comedies. He acted in

9176-531: The most prestigious opera houses in the world. Although primarily a lirico-spinto tenor for most of his career, especially popular for his Cavaradossi , Hoffmann , Don José and Canio , he quickly moved into more dramatic roles, becoming the most acclaimed Otello of his generation. In the early 2010s, he transitioned from the tenor repertory into exclusively baritone parts, including Simon Boccanegra . As of 2020, he has performed 151 different roles . Domingo has also achieved significant success as

9300-668: The most successful operas from early in his career: Andrea Chénier , Samson et Dalila , Otello , La fanciulla del West , Fedora , Pagliacci , and Adriana Lecouvreur . In the twenty-first century, however, he has focused mostly on new roles. Early in the 2000s he sang the role of Arrigo in two concert performances of Verdi's rare La battaglia di Legnano and debuted in Wolf-Ferrari 's Sly , an opera that his Three Tenors colleague José Carreras had recently revived from obscurity. Domingo himself worked to popularize Franco Alfano 's infrequently performed Cyrano de Bergerac

9424-431: The most to him of all he has received. Domingo has starred in several opera films. His three theatrical released opera movies from the 1980s received significant awards and recognitions, including Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. Zeffirelli's La Traviata and Otello both received Academy Award nominations, and the soundtracks of La Traviata and Rosi's Carmen won Grammy Awards for

9548-521: The music in Zeffirelli's Otello . Even while diversifying his career, he continued to appear with great frequency in largely well-received operatic performances. By 1982 Newsweek declared Domingo "King Of The Opera" on its cover. The magazine's featured article, which recounted and analyzed his career, praised the singer for his "heroic voice, superb musicianship, fine acting skills and dashing Latin good looks". That same year, Domingo appeared at

9672-460: The music of Mexican songwriter, Agustín Lara . He devoted two more of his albums, Adoro (1982) and 100 años de Mariachi (1999), solely to Mexican music. 100 años de Mariachi , a rancheras collection, went platinum in the United States and gold in Mexico. He later recalled that, as a fan of mariachi music since boyhood, the Grammy he won for 100 años de Mariachi was the award that meant

9796-692: The musical in various cities in Mexico. In 1959, Domingo auditioned for the Mexico National Opera at the Palacio de Béllas Artes as a baritone, but was then asked to sight-read the tenor aria "Amor ti vieta" from Fedora . He was accepted at the National Opera as a tenor comprimario and as a tutor for other singers. In what he considered his operatic debut, Domingo sang the minor role of Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto on 23 September at

9920-413: The opera company in 1986, when he appeared in its world premiere production of Menotti's Goya , followed by performances in a production of Tosca in the 1988/89 season. After ten years, his contract was extended through the 2010-2011 season. During Domingo's tenure, because of "the company's solid reputation in the United States" and with the help of the opera's then-president, ( Michael Sonnenreich ),

10044-490: The opera world when he recorded the song " Perhaps Love " as a duet with the American country / folk music singer John Denver . He followed this success with many more albums of popular and Latin music. Domingo expressed the hope that his popular albums would expand his fan base in a way that would eventually lead more people to discover opera. These forays outside of the opera world led to numerous television appearances for

10168-565: The opera. In his first interview since recovering from COVID-19 , Domingo told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the charges were false. "When I knew that I had COVID, I promised myself that if I came out alive, I would fight to clear my name", Domingo said. "I never abused anyone. I will repeat that as long as I live." Domingo has made over 200 recordings , most of which are full-length operas; he has recorded nearly all of opera's leading tenor roles, several of them more than once. As

10292-724: The part occurred at the Berlin State Opera on 24 October, followed by 29 other performances during the 2009–2010 season at major opera houses around the world, including the Met and the Royal Opera House in London. After the success of Boccanegra, Domingo has performed other baritone roles including the character of Rigoletto in Verdi 's Rigoletto in August 2010 at Reignwood Theatre in Beijing. In March 2012, for

10416-434: The period of Feinstein's tenure when he greatly increased the number of performances per season, which had a phenomenal effect on ticket sales (the audience reportedly grew from 32,000 to more than 100,000). Washington National Opera = The Tenure of Patricia L. Mossel== Executive Director 1996-2000,Placido Domingo= Artistic Director Plácido Domingo, general director of the company from 2000 until 2011, began an affiliation with

10540-600: The rising star Thaddeus Strassberger . He placed the action at the time of the opera's premiere, 1842 in Milan. The 2014/15 includes a series of three 20-minute operas as part of its American Opera Initiative: The Investment by John Liberatore, Daughters of the Bloody Duke by Jake Runestad , and An American Man by Rene Orth. The American Opera Initiative continues and has produced works such as Penny by Douglas Pew and Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli . Beginning in 2013,

10664-499: The role of Don José in Francesco Rosi 's movie version of Carmen in his native Spain. Zeffirelli reunited with the tenor two years later for another version of an opera, Otello , that ran in movie theaters worldwide. Domingo considered Carmen the best of the three, although he disagreed with the director's "low conception" of his character. He found La traviata to be "impressive", but expressed displeasure over cuts to

10788-578: The role of Pater Profundis in Mahler's Eighth Symphony , conducted by Leopold Stokowski , with Carlos Alexander and Eugene Conley among the other soloists. He was among the most famous exponents of his five signature roles: Don Giovanni , Boris Godunov , Wotan , Scarpia and Amfortas . He never recorded any role in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , although recital performances of Hans Sachs' monologues exist on record. In 1951 he sang at

10912-412: The role of the poet Pablo Neruda in the world première of Daniel Catán 's opera Il Postino at the Los Angeles Opera . During the 2011–2012 season, Domingo sang Neptune in the Metropolitan Opera's world premiere performance of Jeremy Sams ' The Enchanted Island . A pastiche of Baroque opera with story and characters drawn from Shakespeare's The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream ,

11036-537: The role's high tessitura without harming his voice. He asked to be released from his contract, but eventually decided to sing four of the six performances in the run with his friend James Levine conducting, including one performance that was telecast. He never sang the part again. During rehearsals for Les Troyens , Domingo rescued the opening night of the San Francisco Opera 's season. The tenor scheduled to sing Otello, Carlo Cossutta , cancelled on

11160-496: The stage, became Artistic Administrator at the Kennedy Center until its 1971 opening and then Executive Director of the Nation Opera Institute. He directed a production of Die Walküre for the opera company in 1974 and was courted to become General Director for the 1977 season. In addition to running a fiscally sound company with packed houses, its deficit reduced by two-thirds, and exciting productions such as

11284-532: The start of rapid change in the types of roles the tenor performed. During this decade he sang his last Cavaradossi, Don Carlo, Don José, Gustavo/Riccardo , Hoffmann, and Alvaro , among others, and he began instead to expand the breadth of his roles more substantially beyond the standard Italian and French repertory ( Berlioz 's Requiem in 1979). In particular, he increased his involvement in Wagnerian operas. Although he had already sung Lohengrin and recorded

11408-504: The takeover: In May 2011, the company announced the appointment of Francesca Zambello as artistic advisor, and of the then-administrator of the company, Michael Mael, as executive director. In June 2017, Mael concluded his tenure with the company. The company's most recent music director, Philippe Auguin , served in the post from 2010 to 2018. In September 2017, the company announced the appointment of Timothy O'Leary as its next general director, effective 1 July 2018. In September 2018,

11532-481: The tenor in the role: "Domingo plays Othello as well as I do and he has that voice." Domingo has also conducted operas and occasionally symphony orchestras as well. On 7 October 1973 he conducted his first opera performance, La traviata starring Patricia Brooks at the New York City Opera. The same year he released his debut album as a conductor, Domingo Conducts Milnes/Milnes Conducts Domingo , with baritone Sherrill Milnes . Domingo increasingly began to appear as

11656-653: The tenor role of Rafael in the Spanish opera El gato montés , illustrating his willingness to assay the tenor range, even as he still considered himself a baritone. On 12 May 1959 at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara , he appeared in the baritone role (sometimes sung by basses) of Pascual in Emilio Arrieta 's Marina  [ es ] . Like El gato montés , Marina is an opera composed in

11780-451: The tenor, who was no longer known only by classical music lovers. In 1987, he and Denver joined Julie Andrews for an Emmy Award -winning holiday television special, The Sound of Christmas , filmed in Salzburg, Austria. He was interviewed on many talk shows and news programs, including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and 60 Minutes . Increasingly substantial numbers of his operatic performances were also shown on television during

11904-590: The tenor. He also starred in many cinematically released and televised opera movies, particularly under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli . In 1990, he began singing with fellow tenors Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras as part of The Three Tenors . The first Three Tenors recording became the best-selling classical album of all time. Growing up working in his parents' zarzuela company in Mexico , Domingo has since regularly promoted this form of Spanish opera . He also increasingly conducts operas and concerts and

12028-530: The theatre's musicians, who were on strike. Domingo began an affiliation with the Washington National Opera in 1986, when he appeared in its world premiere production of Menotti's Goya . This was followed by performances in a production of Tosca in the 1988/89 season. Beginning in the 1996/97 season, he took on the role of Artistic Director, bringing new life to the company's productions through his many connections to singers throughout

12152-920: The title role in Don Giovanni , Boris in Boris Godunov , Escamillo in Carmen , Iago in Otello , Amfortas in Parsifal , Wolfram in Tannhäuser , the four villains in The Tales of Hoffmann , Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande , and Mephistopheles in Faust . In 1964, he created the role of Abdul in the American premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti 's The Last Savage . He was the first North American to sing

12276-741: The title role of Boris Godunov at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War in 1960. He frequently performed in English: Broadway show tunes and negro spirituals . He recorded many of his roles for RCA Victor , Columbia Records , and Decca . He recorded Verdi 's Requiem with Richard Tucker and Lucine Amara , under Eugene Ormandy . He also recorded Puccini 's Tosca with Mario Del Monaco and Renata Tebaldi under Francesco Molinari-Pradelli conducting

12400-691: The title role of Verdi's Nabucco at Covent Garden in March–April 2013 and has since reprised it in Saint Petersburg , Beijing , Verona , and Vienna . In 2015, he made his debut in the title role of Verdi's Macbeth in Berlin, as well as Don Carlo in Ernani in New York and the title role of Gianni Schicchi in Los Angeles. On 13 June 2018, Plácido Domingo performed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening gala concert in Moscow held at

12524-490: The victims and released an album of one of the events. Also in 1986 he appeared in a special gala concert for Queen Elizabeth II and in the world premiere of Goya , an opera that Gian Carlo Menotti composed specifically for him. Domingo had encouraged Menotti to make the opera about the Spanish painter Francisco Goya , whose life fascinated the singer. Since the 1990s Domingo has continued adding new roles to his growing repertoire, while dropping earlier parts. The 1990s were

12648-466: The vocal parts in many symphonic works and has conducted on some of his albums. In August 2005, EMI Classics released a highly anticipated and publicized studio recording of Richard Wagner 's Tristan und Isolde , in which Domingo and Operalia winner Nina Stemme sang the title roles. A review, headlined "Vocal perfections", in the 8 August 2005 issue of The Economist called the recording "monumental" and praised it for having "a musical lyricism and

12772-442: The waiting audience members "were breathless over the chance to see Placido Domingo, a star who draws the kind of rapt devotion that Mick Jagger inspires among rock fans." For the opening night of the following Met season, Domingo returned to the role of Wagner's Lohengrin , which he had last sung in early 1968. He had originally dropped the role from his repertoire after he felt his voice had been temporarily damaged by learning

12896-485: The world and his own annual appearances in one role each season. One example of his ability to bring new singers to the stage were those by the then up-and-coming Anna Netrebko as Gilda in Rigoletto during the 1999/2000 season. In 2003 Domingo became General Director and his contract was extended through the 2010–2011 season. Parallel to Domingo's management of the Washington company, he had been Artistic Director of

13020-404: The zarzuela musical style rather than a zarzuela proper, although both are usually performed by zarzuela companies. In addition to his work with zarzuelas, among his earliest performances was a minor role in the first Latin American production of the musical My Fair Lady , in which he was also the assistant conductor and assistant coach. While he was a member, the company gave 185 performances of

13144-693: Was admitted to a hospital in Madrid after suffering a pulmonary embolism . He was released on 14 July, and was "expected to make a full recovery". In October 2015, he was admitted to a hospital for a cholecystectomy and missed the first five performances of Tosca he was supposed to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera. In August 2019, Domingo was accused of sexual harassment by multiple female colleagues, some dating back as far as 30 years. However, no official charges were ever filed, nor were there any court proceedings or convictions. Nonetheless, Domingo subsequently resigned from his position as general manager of

13268-506: Was also heard performing the song "In Pace", during the closing credits of Kenneth Branagh 's Hamlet (1996). In 2008, Domingo provided the voice of the long-haired Chihuahua named Montezuma in Disney 's Beverly Hills Chihuahua . He also appeared as Manolo's great-grandfather in the animated film The Book of Life in 2014. George London (bass-baritone) George London (born George Burnstein ; May 30, 1920 – March 24, 1985)

13392-668: Was an American concert and operatic bass-baritone . George Burnstein was born to U.S. naturalized parents of Russian origin in Montreal , Quebec, Canada, and grew up in Los Angeles , California. His operatic debut was in 1941 as George Burnson , singing Dr Grenvil in La traviata at the Hollywood Bowl . In the summer of 1945 Antal Doráti invited his longtime friend, the Hungarian bass Mihály Székely , to sing at

13516-615: Was as impressive as ever—a big, burly, large-voiced singer who looks exactly as one would visualize a hero from Gothic Spain." The performance also marked the opening of the City Opera's new home at Lincoln Center . His official debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York occurred on 28 September 1968, when he substituted with little notice for Franco Corelli in Cilea 's Adriana Lecouvreur with Renata Tebaldi . Two years before this Adriana Lecouvreur , he had already performed with

13640-473: Was born on 21 January 1941 in the Retiro district of Madrid, Spain. His mother recalled that she and her husband knew he would be a musician from the age of five, due to his ability to hum complex music from a zarzuela after seeing a performance of it. In 1949, just days before his eighth birthday, he moved to Mexico with his family. His parents, both singers, had decided to start a zarzuela company there after

13764-477: Was celebrated twice before his death. In the Carnegie Hall concert of 1981, introduced by Beverly Sills , performances were given by a long list of colleagues. In Vienna, 1984, some of the world's greatest singers assembled to honor the artist. In the 1960s, his voice began to deteriorate and partial vocal paralysis was diagnosed. He took injections of silicone and teflon, but did not improve. In 1977,

13888-518: Was general director of the Washington Opera . His voice was large, dark and resonant with a massive, penetrating top. Although it was also rather thickly-textured, London at his best commanded a wide range of dynamics, from delicate pianississimi to resounding fortes . His musicianship won him acclaim on three continents. London was also a fine actor with a robust stage presence; he was tall, powerfully built and striking. London's talent

14012-404: Was half Aragonese and half Catalan , while his mother was a Basque from Gipuzkoa . His father began as a violinist performing for opera and zarzuela orchestras. He soon also took on baritone roles in zarzuelas. Even though he damaged his voice by performing while suffering from a cold, he continued singing into the 1970s. Domingo's mother was an established soprano who made her stage debut at

14136-414: Was his artistic oversight, for by the mid-1970s critics were regularly covering the Opera Society's extraordinary programming and grants were coming in from important foundations." During this period of the 1970s another person was to enter the scene, stage director Frank Rizzo. There followed a stunning Madama Butterfly and other important productions and his association with the company continued into

14260-409: Was issued, and he recorded his first complete opera in the studio, Il trovatore , with Leontyne Price and Sherrill Milnes also for RCA, which would be his primary record label throughout the entire 1970s; RCA recorded Domingo, Milnes and Price together several more times, both in complete operas and recital discs. Domingo followed Il trovatore with a steady stream of complete recorded operas from

14384-539: 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). The recording of their first appearance together, Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert , went multi-platinum with sales in excess of three million in the United States alone, eventually outselling every previous classical album worldwide. Domingo and his colleagues won

14508-716: Was never able to return to the company, but his legacy was that "by giving it a new name, a fresh image, and a lot of heft, he brought the company into the national and international opera scene and put it on the road to top rank of producing organizations." Martin Feinstein succeeded London as General Director from 1980 to 1995 and "spent the next 16 years luring artists of the stature of Gian Carlo Menotti (who directed La Boheme ), Daniel Barenboim (who conducted Così fan tutte ) and Plácido Domingo (who debuted in Washington in 1986 with Menotti's Goya " Feinstein brought in many young singers long before their first appearances at

14632-471: Was preserved. Another black-and-white videotape of him in the same role, opposite Renata Tebaldi in a complete performance, is sometimes available. In 1958, London performed the leading role of Wotan , in the groundbreaking recording of Richard Wagner 's opera Das Rheingold , conducted by Georg Solti , and produced by John Culshaw for Decca . Having already sung the Rheingold Wotan and

14756-551: Was scheduled for the summer of 1965 with London as Wotan and the Wanderer. The Cologne Ring proved to be a great success (a private recording of Das Rheingold from this cycle exists to verify this) but London's vocal health began to deteriorate rapidly during the 1963/64 season; subsequently the problem was diagnosed as a paralysed vocal cord. This problem increased so much that shortly after singing Wotan in Die Walküre at

14880-658: Was taking on too much when the singer gave an interview in the Los Angeles Times in which he restated his long-time motto, "When I rest, I rust". In October 2019, Domingo resigned as general director of the Los Angeles Opera amid accusations of sexual harassment. Domingo announced in 2007 that two years later he would take on one of Verdi 's most demanding baritone roles, singing the title role in Simon Boccanegra . His debut performance in

15004-533: Was the first Spaniard to perform at an Academy Awards ceremony. He had previously presented the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with Faye Dunaway at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985. Domingo was the executive producer of the critically acclaimed 1998 Mexican film The Other Conquest , produced by his son Alvaro and directed by Salvador Carrasco, in which Domingo also sang the original aria "Mater Aeterna", composed by Samuel Zyman with lyrics by Carrasco. He

15128-688: Was the general director of the Los Angeles Opera in California from 2017 to 2019. He was initially the artistic director and later general director of the Washington National Opera from 1996 to 2011. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian works, as well as efforts to help young opera singers, including starting and running the international singing competition, Operalia . In the years 2019–2021 he has performed continuously on stages in Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Graz, Madrid, Mérida, Milan, Monte Carlo, Moscow, Munich, Palermo, Rome, Salzburg, Sofia, Verona, Versailles, Vienna and Zurich. Plácido Domingo

15252-643: Was the order of the day". Four months later, the Society staged a double bill of Gian Carlo Menotti 's opera The Old Maid and the Thief along with his ballet The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and the Manticore . It was very successful with both the public and critics alike. Successful presentations followed from November 1957 onwards: Fidelio ; Ariadne auf Naxos ; Idomeneo ; a double bill of Schoenberg's Erwartung and Stravinsky's Le Rossignol (conducted by

15376-548: Was the second Olympics at which he performed; he also sang the Olympic Hymn at the closing ceremonies of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. In 2002, he made a guest appearance on the song "Novus", the closing track on Santana 's album Shaman . Domingo sang before Benedict XVI , during the pope's visit to Nationals Park and the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., on 16 and 17 April 2008. On 15 March 2009,

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