He is the tallest of the Three Tenors. Possibly the most dashing. Certainly a pleasant man. And most definitely talented.
Standing at 1.88m tall, Placido Domingo may not be a name that immediately comes to mind when opera nowadays is mentioned. People are most likely to think of Pavarotti, perhaps even more so now because of the great Italian tenor's recent death. However, just as Pavarotti had an undying fan base, so does this statuesque Spanish tenor.
Born José Plácido Domingo Embil, Domingo started life in his operatic career as a baritone. This gave him his trademark, unmistakable burnished bronze tone, that possesses a clear and ringing quality throughout his tremendous range. However, after an audition, in which he auditioned for a baritone role, he was asked to sight-read a tenor score and was subsequently accepted as a tenor. Thanks to his parents, Domingo had been exposed to the theatre since an early age. This was because both his mother and father were involved in a Zarzuela(a form of Spanish opera) troupe. In his teens, he had sung in local productions of My Fair Lady, albeit in Spanish. Domingo is also renowned nowadays for his conducting skills, enhanced by his keen musicality and abilities at the piano. Another notable tenor who seems to be following in his footsteps would be the Argentine Jose Cura.
As a third of the three men that make up the legendary Three Tenors, Placido Domingo seems to be the most 'clean' in terms of scandals. The only thing that may be slightly scandalous would've been a marriage at the age of 16, and a child out of that marriage, which unfortunately ended in divorce. However, on retrospect, if Domingo had not left his first wife, he would never had met Marta Ornelas, a lyric soprano in her own right, to whom he has been married to for 45 years. While the other two tenors, Pavarotti and Carreras, have had their fair share of embarrassing moments in the tabloids, Domingo has remained a relatively private man. On top of that, he has also been quite devoted to his family, despite his astonishingly hectic schedule.
To date, Placido Domingo has at least 128 roles under his belt. His most famous? Undoubtedly Verdi's Otello, an operatic retelling of Shakespeare's gritty drama. He has been hailed as the best in the titular role of this generation, quite deservingly so. This is due to his intensity while acting, and the heightened sense of drama he can and does convey through his powerful singing.
Said American soprano Renée Fleming :" His acting was so terrifying in its intensity, I thought he really was going to strangle me an act in advance. It left my legs shaking so hard, I needed help to leave the stage."
Indeed, as one of the best known tenors of this era, Domingo has not rested on his laurels once in his 3 decade long career. It is expected that he would continue to conduct long after he has stopped singing, which he is still doing at the age of 66. In fact, just recently, he premiered Tan Dun's opera, The First Emperor, which was broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera and brought to Singapore via movie theatres.
Personally, i feel that Domingo's voice is, indeed, one of the finest of the generation's. His easygoing nature echoes his name perfectly, which means, you guessed it, placid. There may be a competition between Domingo and Pavarotti, but my personal favourite is Domingo. Despite years of continuous use of his brilliant voice, Domingo's voice still sounds as clear as it did in his heyday. His wide repertoire also speaks of his enviable, endless energy. As he devotes more attention, effort and time than say, Pavarotti or Carreras to stage roles, i feel myself being drawn more to him, frequently using him as a benchmark in most roles, considering he's sung most of the popular ones. The fact that he has also attempted to tackle Wagner's monstrously punishing scores also speaks volumes about his quest to, may i say, conquer the entire popular repertoire and more. Certainly, i can see why fans flock to the Domingo camp. He's tall, well groomed, and looks great in a tux. Somehow, this may sound wrong, but he has strangely lean legs, making him look good in the high boots that Otello wears, or even in the disturbing tights of the 16th century. I suppose this stems from his love of football, which he has been seen playing quite a number of times. His sense of humor and humility are certainly sound; he has sung with the likes of Miss Piggy, from the Muppets show, as well as the American comedienne, Carol Burnett.
With his charm, graciousness and attitude, as well as his unmistakable knockout of a voice, i am sure Placido Domingo will go down in history just like Caruso, or even his late colleague, Pavarotti, did.
