Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo: biography, family, creativity. Biography of Placido Domingo Performances on the big stage

The famous tenor was born in early 1941 in Madrid into the family of Pepita Embil and Placido Domingo, who performed in zarzuela. The mother of the future celebrity was the owner beautiful soprano, and his father is a unique baritone.

Childhood

In 1949, the Domingo family moved to the Mexican capital, where Placido’s father and mother began organizing their own theater troupe.

Schoolboy Domingo loved to play football and did not miss a single bullfight. He learned to play the piano at the age of eight, and when he was fourteen years old, Placido became a student at the Mexican National Conservatory.

The sixteen-year-old boy began performing with his parents as a vocalist. In addition, Placido conducted the orchestra in theatrical productions Spanish operetta.

Opera singer career

In 1959, under the patronage of Manuel Aguilar, whose father was a famous Mexican diplomat, the young tenor was accepted into the National Opera, where he made his stage debut in Rigoletto. Over the next two years, Placido performed roles in Turandot, La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, André Chénier, Tosca and Carmen.

Then he was invited to the Dallas Opera. For 3 years, Placido performed at the Tel Aviv Opera House. In 1966, he was accepted into the New York Opera, where he performed arias in Carmen, Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly and La Bohème. A year later, the tenor sang in the opera Lohengrina. The rehearsals lasted only 3 days, but Domingo did an excellent job with a very difficult part.

In 1968, he was taken to the Metropolitan Opera in the production of Adriane Lecouvreur. The tenor was a member of this theater troupe for 40 years.

Star status

In 1990, the BBC channel used the aria “Nessun Dorma”, performed by Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, as the screensaver of the world football championship. The trio continued to play sold-out concerts at top European venues.

In 2006, in the capital of Germany, Domingo sang in a concert in honor of the closing of the world football championship.

Placido is the winner of eleven Grammy awards. He also directed Tosca, Othello and La Traviata into films.

The Guinness Book of Records noted Domingo, whose performance in 1991 after the opera “Othello” in the Austrian capital was accompanied by an eighty-minute ovation, which became the longest in world history.

Personal life

The tenor was first married to pianist Anna Maria Guerra. Their marriage took place in 1957. Domingo was a sixteen-year-old boy at that time. The couple did not live together for even a year. Anna Maria gave birth to Placido's son Jose.

Domingo married his stage colleague Martha Ornelas for the second time in 1962. They met at the conservatory. In 1965, the couple had a boy, who was named Placido, and three years later Ornelas gave birth to a second son, Alvaro.

The singer has been a fan of Real Madrid all his life. In 2002, he became the performer of the anthem of this famous Spanish club.

In 2017, Real Madrid beat Juventus to win the Champions League trophy. Placido congratulated the players of his favorite team and took a photo with them. Subsequently, this photograph appeared on his official page on Instagram, where you can often see videos of the singer’s performances and personal photos of Domingo.

Placido Domingo (Jose Placido Domingo Embil, Jose Placido Domingo Embil) was born on January 21, 1941 in Madrid (Spain), in a family of zarzuela performers (a type of musical stage performance in Spain, close to operetta). At the age of eight, Placido was already performing in public as a pianist, and later became interested in singing.

In 1949, his parents moved to Mexico, where they continued their artistic activities, organizing their own troupe in Mexico City.

When Placido turned 14 years old, his parents decided to send him to the National Conservatory, where he studied both musical and general education subjects.

At the age of sixteen, Placido first performed in his parents' troupe as a singer; his first role was Borsa in the opera "Rigoletto", and later he performed in a more significant role - the chaplain in the Mexican premiere of Poulenc's opera "Dialogues of the Carmelites". He performed several performances at the Zarzuela Theater and as a conductor.

His stage debut took place on May 12, 1959, in a supporting role at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara. First main role Placido Domingo - Alfredo in La Traviata, performed by him at the Monterrey Theater.

Domingo later performed the role of Arthur in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Dallas Opera House (USA). In the 1960/1961 season, his roles already included Remendado in Carmen, Spoletta in Tosca, The Dapper and the Abbé in André Chénier, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Gaston in La Traviata and the Emperor in Turandot ".

Since 1962, Placido Domingo was a soloist at the Israeli National Opera in Tel Aviv for three seasons, where he managed to gain the necessary experience and expand his repertoire. He took part in 280 productions and performed 12 roles.

Six months after returning from Israel, Domingo performed the role of Alberto in the world premiere of “Don Rodrigo” by Ginaster, with which the New York City Opera opened the new Lincoln Center in New York State Theater. After this success, the stages of the best opened for the artist opera houses. In 1967, Placido Domingo made his debut on the stage of the Hamburg State Opera in the play "Tosca", at the Vienna State Opera in "Don Carlo".

In 1968, Domingo made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, performing the role of Maurizio in the opera Adriana Lecouvreur. Over the next four decades, the tenor opened seasons at the Metropolitan Opera 21 times, breaking Caruso's record of 17 times.

Throughout the 1970-1980s, Domingo regularly sang in performances at the world's leading theaters: London's Covent Garden, Milan's La Scala, Paris' Grand Opera, Hamburg and Vienna Opera. In October 1970, Domingo performed for the first time in Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera" - in an ensemble with the Spanish singer Montserrat Caballe, with whom they later formed one of the most widely known duets.

For a number of years, Domingo was a participant in the Salzburg Festival, and the singer established strong ties with the Verona Arena festival.

In the 1973/1974 season, Placido Domingo made his debut as a conductor (he conducted the opera La Traviata in New York City).

The singer was a participant in the unique concert program"The Three Tenors", when three great opera singers - Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and José Carreras - took the stage together. The concert was conceived for one purpose: to raise funds for the operation of Carreras, who was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 1987 by doctors. The charity concert instantly became the greatest musical event, and the recording of the Nessun Dorma aria sold more copies than any other tune in the history of music, which is also recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Since then, the “Three Tenors” have performed on famous stages around the world to sold-out audiences more than once. Over 11 years, the artists gave a total of 35 concerts in different cities.

With the participation of Placido Domingo, four famous opera films were created - "La Traviata", "Othello", "Carmen" and "Tosca".

Since 1991, the singer has also been involved in directing activities.

Domingo performed 147 different roles in more than 3,600 performances, and recorded more than 100 operas, arias and duets.

In 2013, the world-famous tenor recorded an album of arias by Giuseppe Verdi for baritone. The album, entitled Verdi, became the first baritone album in the artist’s work.

Placido Domingo has repeatedly given concerts in Moscow, where he has sold out crowds in the most prestigious halls of the capital.

From 2003 to 2011, he served as General Director of the Washington National Opera (WNO). Currently is general director Los Angeles Opera.

Recipient of the title of Honorary Doctor of the University of Madrid, Doctor fine arts from New York University, Honorary Doctorates of Music from the University of Oklahoma, the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, and Georgetown University.

He helps young performers through the Young Artist Project he founded in Los Angeles and Washington in the USA and in Valencia in Spain, as well as through the Operalia competition, which has been running since 1993.

Domingo is also known as a philanthropist. He organized charity concerts to help victims of the earthquake in Mexico and Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

The singer is the winner of 13 Grammy awards, including for recordings for productions of “Aida” and “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi, “Carmen” by Georges Bizet and “Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner.

The singer also won an Emmy Award for the television films Hommage a Sevilla and Mets Silver Gala.

Placido Domingo was awarded the French Legion of Honor, the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic, is a Knight Grand Cross and a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, has the title of Chevalier of Arts and Letters, the title of Chamber Singer (Honorary Singer) of Hamburg, Munich and Vienna, is the owner of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the development of the theater.

In October 2009, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented Placido Domingo with the first Birgit Nilsson Prize, named after the famous Swedish singer, at the Royal Opera and Ballet Theater in Stockholm. Placido Domingo became the first laureate of the award at the request of Birgit Nilsson herself.

In January 2011, the Spanish government awarded the singer the Order of the Arts "for outstanding achievements in creative activity."

Domingo was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship (2011) for his great contribution to the development of Russian-Spanish cooperation in the field of musical art.

Placido Domingo signed a personalized star for the Walk of Fame in Moscow on the eve of his concert as part of the tour.

Placido Domingo is married for the second time. From his first marriage he has a son, Jose.

He and his second wife, Mexican Marta Ornelas, have been together for almost 50 years. She is a vocalist (soprano), and since 1991 she has been a stage director. opera performances. Domingo and Ornelas have two sons - Placido and Alvaro.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Placido Domingo Jr. (Plácido Domingo Jr.) - official website of the concert agent

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Placido Domingo Jr. - successful composer and aspiring singer

Placido Domingo Jr. was born into a musical family, classical music has accompanied him since childhood, so it is not at all surprising that his family is built around her. However, he did not go to the opera like his parents, but decided to take up composing and production. He is also related to many of his father’s records. While working on one of them - “Amore Infinito” in 2009, which conquered the Billboard Top Classical Crossover Albums - Placido Domingo asked his son to record the songs he had prepared for him, so that it would be more convenient to learn them. And when the great tenor heard the result, he was impressed by his son’s performance and invited him to try his hand at popular classical music.

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Placido Domingo Jr. with a large symphony orchestra

The Greatest Hits of My Love

Conductor - Stefano Burbi (Florence)

Placido Domingo Jr. (Plácido Domingo Jr.) is a singer and composer, the son of the great tenor Placido Domingo, the world famous “King of Opera” and the greatest opera artist of our time. Placido Domingo Jr. has written numerous works for famous classical and popular artists such as Michael Bolton, Sarah Brightman, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Diana Ross, Tony Bennet, Alejandro Fernandez, Yanni, his father Placido Domingo Sr. and many others.

In 2009, he participated as a producer, composer and performer in the creation of the album "Amore Infinito", which took first place on Billboard magazine's list of "Best Classical Crossover Albums". Domingo Jr. is “Person of the Year” according to the Latin American Academy “Grammy” (2010), which was greatly facilitated by the album “Songs for Christmas” released this year, sung together with the legendary Juan Cristobal Losada. In 2014, he sang and recorded with his father and Andrea Bocelli in Puccini's Manon Lescaut. It was released in 2017 new album“Latidos”, on which his long-time dream came true - to sing his childhood favorite “Bessame Mucho” with his father, as well as with the great Jose Feliciano and work with Arturo Sandoval.

On January 21, 1941, one of the most famous tenors of our time was born. Placido Domingo called "the king of opera", "a Renaissance man in music" and "the greatest opera artist modernity." During his more than half-century career, Domingo appeared on stage nearly four thousand times in 145 roles—a number unsurpassed by any other famous opera singer in history—and also conducted 500 performances.

Talented heir

The “King of Opera” was born in 1941 in Madrid into a family of singers. His mother Pepita Ambil and father Placido Domingo Ferrer were famous performers in the genre of zarzuela (this is the name in Spain for a comedy with singing, dancing and spoken dialogue). WITH early childhood The famous tenor entered the world of music, but, like all Spanish boys, he had other dreams - to become a goalkeeper or a bullfighter. “I had a passion for football and played two matches almost every day,” Domingo recalled. — And when I was 14 years old, I went with a friend to a small training arena to try my hand at bullfighting. The bull I had to fight was no taller than an adult Great Dane, but when he chased me and knocked me to the ground, I decided to become a goalkeeper.” However, instead of football, Domingo studied conducting and piano, and then became interested in singing. Domingo made his debut as a singer at the age of 16 in his parents' troupe, and the famous tenor appeared on the opera stage as a baritone at only nineteen years old.

Placido Domingo, 1977. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

His first opera role was Borsa in Rigoletto. In this production, the title role was played by Cornell McNeil, Flaviano Labo sang the Duke, and Ernestina Garfias- Gilda. About his debut, Domingo recalled: “It was an exciting day. My parents, as owners of their own theater business, provided me with a magnificent outfit. Labo wondered how the aspiring tenor managed to get such a beautiful suit. A few months later I performed in a more significant role - I sang the chaplain in the Mexican premiere of Poulenc’s opera “Dialogues of the Carmelites.”

In 1961, Domingo made his debut in the United States, starting over half a century of history conquering America with his signature opera roles, and then Domingo’s rapid career and musical victories are difficult to keep track of. The number of opera roles included in his permanent repertoire exceeded eight dozen, he collaborated with all the major conductors of our time and with many film directors who filmed operas with his participation - Franco Zeffirelli, Francesco Rosi, Joseph Schlesinger. Since 1972, the maestro has systematically acted as a conductor. Opening the season at the Metropolitan Opera for the eighteenth time, Placido Domingo broke the record for the most Enrico Caruso. And the television broadcast of the opera “Tosca,” staged among the ancient scenery of Rome, was seen by more than a billion viewers in 117 countries. An equally impressive audience listened to Domingo when he and opera singer Song Sui performed a song on Chinese at the closing ceremony Olympic Games- 2008 in Beijing. The singer's numerous albums, sold in more than a million copies, went gold and platinum and brought the maestro 11 Grammys - the most prestigious music award in the world, which outstanding performers dream of receiving at least once.

Placido Domingo at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Othello the Family Man

The singer made the most difficult role of the Italian repertoire - the part of Othello - his best stage work. However, in terms of character, the “king of the opera” is in no way reminiscent of his expressive romantic heroes. He is good-natured and balanced, never loses his prudence and sense of reality. Despite the crazy fame and a sea of ​​fans, he remains faithful to his family.

Domingo first tied the knot when he was only 16 years old. He fell in love with a young Mexican pianist Ana Maria Guerra, who was 2 years older than the maestro. "With this girl, I thought I had true love. But we didn't last long. I got married for the second time when I was 21.” WITH by Marta Ornelas The famous tenor was also brought together by music. The couple met while studying at a conservatory in Mexico City and are still together. Domingo admitted that he sought Marta’s hand and heart by singing serenades under the window. As a result, one of the leading vocalists of the Mexican National Opera was conquered and still remains a wonderful wife - she understands all the difficulties associated with her husband’s excessive workload and is never jealous of his fame.

Opera long-liver

In 2002, Domingo publicly announced the period during which he would continue to perform. “I’m 61 years old and my opera career will last another 4-5 years because opera is very demanding.” But 14 years have passed, and the “king of opera” still stands on stage, receiving a long standing ovation. Once in Vienna, after his performance, Domingo bowed 83 times, the applause lasted an hour and a half. Just once the tenor was forced to interrupt his performance. This was at the end of 2001, when he played the role of Othello in opera of the same name Verdi at Milan's La Scala theater, the cause of the artist's illness was a sharp drop in blood pressure and, as a result, an instant loss of voice. In the middle of the aria, Domingo suddenly stopped and said in Italian: “Sorry, but I can’t continue,” after which he left the stage. After thirty minutes, during which not a single person left the hall, the tenor returned and sang until the end of the performance, after which he was given a long standing ovation.

Despite his respectable age, Domingo is in excellent shape. “There is an opinion that a musician gets younger with age. I have the same passion for singing as when I started my career. I was lucky to grow up in the theater and watch my parents perform five shows a week. Their example showed me what to avoid. What and how to do in order not to wear out vocally,” Domingo shared with Moscow journalists, starting his anniversary tour in Russia in January 2016. And he joked about his venerable age: “75 years is only three times 25.”