Plácido Domingo

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Placido Domingo (2019)
Placido Domingo (2014)

José Plácido Domingo Embil , KBE (born January 21, 1941 in Madrid ) is a Spanish opera singer ( tenor and baritone ), conductor and artistic director . Along with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, he was one of the Three Tenors . In his career he has sold more than 21 million records, including over 2.5 million in his home country alone. His most successful release is the album The Three Tenors in Concert with over 7.2 million units sold. In 2019, around 20 women raised allegations of sexual harassment against Domingo, who admitted his wrongdoing in February 2020.

Life

Plácido Domingo was born as the son of the zarzuela singers Pepita Embil and Plácido Domingo Ferrer and spent his childhood in Mexico from 1949 . His first wife was Ana María Guerra Cué from 1957 to 1958, and he has been married to the soprano Marta Ornelas (* 1935) since 1962. He made his debut in a small role in 1959 (Borsa in Rigoletto in Mexico City ) and on May 19, 1961 as Alfredo in Traviata (in Monterrey , Mexico). From 1962 to 1965 he was engaged with his wife in Tel Aviv ( Israel ) before his real international career began with a successful appearance in 1966 at the New York City Opera in Alberto Ginastera's Don Rodrigo . Since then he has performed at all the major opera houses and opera festivals in the world:

Domingo is considered one of the most versatile tenors and has sung 134 different roles so far . The focus of his broad repertoire is the Italian and French subject with operas by Giuseppe Verdi , Giacomo Puccini , Georges Bizet , Jules Massenet , Pietro Mascagni , Ruggero Leoncavallo , Umberto Giordano and others. One of his star roles was Otello (in Verdi's opera of the same name), recorded several times on record and filmed with him by Franco Zeffirelli . He has also made a name for himself as a Wagner singer, especially as Lohengrin , Siegmund (in Die Walküre ) and as Parsifal . He also sings in Russian (Gherman in Pique Dame ) and has premiered the operas Goya (by Gian Carlo Menotti ), El Poeta (by Federico Moreno Torroba ), Divinas palabras (by Antón García Abril ) and Nicholas and Alexandra (by Deborah Drattell ) participated. Up until very recently he has repeatedly acquired new roles: For example, in 2005 he rehearsed Franco Alfanos Cyrano de Bergerac at the Met and recorded the part of Tristan in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde on CD . In December 2006 and January 2007 he sang the lead role in the world premiere of Tan Dun's latest opera , The First Emperor, at the Met .

Domingo began as a baritone and sang only one baritone role during his tenor career, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia under Claudio Abbado . More recently he sang Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (2007), Germont ( La traviata ) and the title roles in Nabucco and Rigoletto . In 2013 he played the role of Count Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Berlin State Opera, and in 2014 also at the Salzburg Festival . From the nineties (for the first time on the occasion of the World Cup in 1990 ) he had performed repeatedly and successfully in large arenas with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti ( The Three Tenors ). On the 2002 released album Shaman of Latin Rock - and jazz - guitarist Carlos Santana took over the vocals of the last song, Novus .

In 1996 Domingo became artistic director of the Washington National Opera and was its general director from 2003 to 2011; since 2003 he has been general director of the Los Angeles Opera . He is also active as a conductor , including at the Met , Covent Garden , the State Opera Unter den Linden , the Vienna State Opera , the Bavarian State Opera , the Theater an der Wien and the Bayreuth Festival ( Die Walküre , 2018). In 1993 he founded Operalia , a competition for young opera singers that has been held annually in various cities around the world since then (previously in Paris , Mexico City , Madrid , Bordeaux , Tokyo , Hamburg , San Juan , Los Angeles, Washington , Valencia and in the trinational Lake Constance region).

Domingo is known for its wide variety of charity events and promotions. For example, after the great earthquake in Mexico City , in which he also lost his own family members, he founded a children's village for the orphans of the earthquake. For a year he canceled almost all his duties at the major opera stages and only gave benefit concerts, the proceeds of which went to the orphans and other aid projects in Mexico. Again and again he supports aid projects all over the world, especially those that take on disadvantaged groups. In November 2006, together with the Vienna Philharmonic, he was appointed " Hearing Ambassador" by the Swiss hearing aid manufacturer Phonak . He supports the Hear the World Foundation to protect the hearing and to help the hearing impaired. Since June 2011, Domingo features in common with the world footballers Pele and Johan Cruyff and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former chairman of the FBI Louis Freeh to solve Commission of FIFA .

Domingo campaigned for the revival of little-known works in which he appeared himself, for example at the Theater an der Wien in a Zarzuela ( Luisa Fernanda by Federico Moreno Torroba ), ( Goya by Gian Carlo Menotti ) and Verdi's I due Foscari . In 2016 he also appeared here in the role of Macbeth by Verdi with the finale of the 1847 version. In May 2017, on the occasion of the anniversary of his first appearance at the Vienna State Opera 50 years ago, a gala was held in which Domingo appeared in Verdi's three baritone roles: Renato ( Un ballo in maschera ), Germont ( La traviata ) and Simon Boccanegra . On June 11, 2017, he made his debut there in the role of Marquis Posa in Don Carlo .

Sexual harassment

In August 2019, allegations of sexual harassment of several female colleagues became known, some of which go back up to 30 years. In response, Domingo resigned as head of the Los Angeles Opera. Several opera house workers reported that Domingo's behavior was an open secret and that "complicated strategies" had been developed to keep Domingo away from female singers.

At the end of February 2020, Domingo admitted personal misconduct and apologized to the women concerned. "I acknowledge full responsibility for my actions," a statement said. But he "never behaved aggressively towards anyone" or did anything to "hinder anyone's career," said Domingo. Domingo admitted that women did not dare to repel the attacks for fear of their careers. An investigation initiated by the Los Angeles Opera into the incidents at the house did not confirm the allegations, but criticized the inadequate communication and lack of awareness of sexual harassment at the opera.

Discography

Solo albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1983 My Life for a Song - - - UK31 (8 weeks)
UK
-
First published: May 1983
1986 The Collection - - - UK30th
gold
gold

(14 weeks)UK
-
First published: December 1986
1988 Greatest Love Songs - - - UK63 (2 weeks)
UK
-
First published: April 1988
1989 Goya: A Life in Song - - - UK36 (4 weeks)
UK
-
First published: March 1989
The essential - - - UK20th
gold
gold

(8 weeks)UK
-
First published: March 1989
The most beautiful voice DE6th
gold
gold

(12 weeks)DE
- - - -
First published: December 1989
1990 Be My Love: An Album of Love - - - UK14th
gold
gold

(12 weeks)UK
US171 (6 weeks)
US
First published: November 1990
1991 The Broadway I Love - - - UK45
silver
silver

(6 weeks)UK
-
First published: November 1991
1992 Arias And Spanish Songs - - - UK47 (3 weeks)
UK
-
First published: June 1992
1994 De Mi Alma Latina - From My Latin Soul - - - UK97 (1 week)
UK
-
First published: October 1994
2000 Songs of Love - Love Songs DE83 (3 weeks)
DE
- - UK53 (4 weeks)
UK
-
First published: August 2000
2008 Amore Infinito DE99 (1 week)
DE
- - - US117 (2 weeks)
US
First published: November 2008
2012 Songs - AT20 (8 weeks)
AT
- UK78 (2 weeks)
UK
US136 (2 weeks)
US
First published: October 2012

More albums

  • 1994: A Night At The Opera
  • 1997: Pucciniarior
  • 2002: Sacred Songs
  • 2004: Bravo! - The best of
  • 2006: Italia, ti amo
  • 2008: Pasión española
  • 2011: The Story
  • 2013: The Best Of
  • 2014: Encanto del mar
  • 2015: My Christmas

Collaborations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1981 Perhaps love - - - UK17th
gold
gold

(21 weeks)UK
US18th
platinum
platinum

(27 weeks)US
First published: November 1981
with John Denver
1985 Andrew Lloyd Webber: Requiem - - - UK4th
platinum
platinum

(18 weeks)UK
-
First published: March 1985
with Sarah Brightman and Lorin Maazel
1992 From The Barcelona Games - AT14 (8 weeks)
AT
- UK41 (3 weeks)
UK
-
First published: July 1992
with Montserrat Caballé and José Carreras
1996 A Celebration Of Christmas DE37 (4 weeks)
DE
AT10 (2 weeks)
AT
- - -
First published: October 1996
with Natalie Cole and José Carreras
Classic Christmas Album
Christmas gala of world stars
DE48 (3 weeks)
DE
- - - -
First published: December 1996
with Kiri Te Kanawa and Luciano Pavarotti
1997 Sanctus: The Concert For The Soul DE39 (1 week)
DE
- - - -
First published: March 1997
with Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti
2006 The Waldbühne concert DE68 (7 weeks)
DE
- - - -
First published: November 2006
with Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
2007 Gitano DE50 (7 weeks)
DE
AT38 (7 weeks)
AT
- - -
First published: February 2007
with Rolando Villazón
2013 Verdi - AT27 (2 weeks)
AT
- - -
First published: August 2013
with Pablo Heras-Casado
2016 Notte magica - A Tribute To The Three Tenors - AT33 (2 weeks)
AT
CH33 (6 weeks)
CH
- US186 (1 week)
US
First publication: September 2016
with Il Volo

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Christmas in Vienna

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1993 Christmas in Vienna DE13
gold
gold

(9 weeks)DE
AT2
platinum
platinum

(5 weeks)AT
CH7th
gold
gold

(2 weeks)CH
UK71 (2 weeks)
UK
US154 (3 weeks)
US
First published: October 1993
with Diana Ross and José Carreras
1994 Christmas In Vienna II DE41 (5 weeks)
DE
AT7 (2 weeks)
AT
- UK60 (5 weeks)
UK
-
First published: November 1994
with Dionne Warwick
1995 Christmas In Vienna III DE50 (2 weeks)
DE
- - - -
First published: November 1995
with Charles Aznavour and Sissel Kyrkjebø
1996 Christmas In Vienna - Best Of DE60 (3 weeks)
DE
AT37 (4 weeks)
AT
- - -
First published: November 1996
with Helmut Lotti , Patricia Kaas , Vanessa Williams , Charlotte Church , Sarah Brightman, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti
1997 Christmas In Vienna IV DE61 (3 weeks)
DE
AT16 (4 weeks)
AT
- - US192 (2 weeks)
US
First published: November 1997
with Michael Bolton and Ying Huang
1998 Christmas In Vienna V. DE33 (4 weeks)
DE
AT26 (4 weeks)
AT
- - -
First publication: November 1998
with Riccardo Cocciante , Sarah Brightman and Helmut Lotti
1999 Christmas In Vienna VI DE49 (4 weeks)
DE
- CH97 (1 week)
CH
- -
First publication: October 1999
with Alejandro Fernández and Patricia Kaas
2001 Christmas In Vienna VII DE79 (2 weeks)
DE
AT48 (5 weeks)
AT
CH78 (1 week)
CH
- US102 (6 weeks)
US
First published: October 2001
with Tony Bennett , Vanessa Williams and Charlotte Church

The 3 tenors

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1990 In concert DE3
platinum
platinum

(100 weeks)DE
AT2
gold
gold

(23 weeks)AT
CH10
gold
gold

(16 weeks)CH
UK1
Quintuple platinum
× 5
Quintuple platinum

(82 weeks)UK
US53
Triple platinum
× 3
Triple platinum

(100 weeks)US
First publication: August 1990
with José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Zubin Mehta
1994 In Concert 1994 DE2
Triple gold
× 3
Triple gold

(48 weeks)DE
AT1
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(22 weeks)AT
CH3
platinum
platinum

(22 weeks)CH
UK1
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(28 weeks)UK
US4th
platinum
platinum

(33 weeks)US
First publication: August 1994
with José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Zubin Mehta
1998 Paris 1998 DE3 (18 weeks)
DE
AT8th
gold
gold

(16 weeks)AT
CH10
gold
gold

(10 weeks)CH
UK14th
silver
silver

(9 weeks)UK
US83
gold
gold

(10 weeks)US
First published: August 1998
with José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and James Levine
2000 Christmas / Christmas DE9
gold
gold

(5 weeks)DE
AT3 (6 weeks)
AT
CH11 (4 weeks)
CH
UK57
silver
silver

(2 weeks)UK
US54
gold
gold

(8 weeks)US
First published: November 2000
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti
2002 Best of - AT37 (6 weeks)
AT
- UK86 (1 week)
UK
-
First published: May 2002
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti

Songs

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1981 Perhaps Love
Perhaps Love
- - - UK46 (9 weeks)
UK
US59 (7 weeks)
US
First published: November 1981
with John Denver
1989 Till I Loved You
Goya: A Life in Song
- - - UK24 (11 weeks)
UK
-
First published: May 1989
with Jennifer Rush
1990 Nessun dorma
Opera Extravaganza
- - - UK59 (5 weeks)
UK
-
First published: May 1990
with Luis Cobos
1994 Fire in your heart
inside
DE26 (9 weeks)
DE
- CH20 (8 weeks)
CH
- -
First published: March 1994
with Sissel Kyrkjebø
Libiamo / La donna è mobile
In Concert
- - - UK21 (5 weeks)
UK
-
First published: July 1994
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti
1998 You'll Never Walk Alone
Paris 1998
DE46 (4 weeks)
DE
- CH28 (2 weeks)
CH
UK35 (9 weeks)
UK
-
First published: July 1998
with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti

Awards for music sales

Country / Region Silver record icon.svg silver Gold record icon.svg gold Platinum record icon.svg platinum Sales swell
Awards for music sales
(country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Argentina (CAPIF) Argentina (CAPIF) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum4th 218,000 capif.org.ar ( Memento from May 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) AR2 ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Australia (ARIA) Australia (ARIA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum6th 490,000 aria.com.au
Belgium (BEA) Belgium (BEA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum2 125,000 ultratop.be
Brazil (PMB) Brazil (PMB) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 250,000 pro-musicabr.org.br
Denmark (IFPI) Denmark (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 0! P- 20,000 Individual evidence
Germany (BVMI) Germany (BVMI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 6 × gold6th Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 2,075,000 musikindustrie.de
Europe (IFPI) Europe (IFPI) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 (3,000,000) ifpi.org ( Memento from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Finland (IFPI) Finland (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 0! P- 28,684 ifpi.fi
France (SNEP) France (SNEP) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 720,000 infodisc.fr snepmusique.com
Canada (MC) Canada (MC) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 11 × platinum11 840,000 musiccanada.com
Mexico (AMPROFON) Mexico (AMPROFON) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 0! P- 250,000 amprofon.com.mx
New Zealand (RMNZ) New Zealand (RMNZ) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum2 30,000 nztop40.co.nz
Netherlands (NVPI) Netherlands (NVPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 Platinum record icon.svg 13 × platinum13 1,440,000 nvpi.nl
Norway (IFPI) Norway (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 100,000 ifpi.no ( Memento from November 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Austria (IFPI) Austria (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 Platinum record icon.svg 5 × platinum5 305,000 ifpi.at
Poland (ZPAV) Poland (ZPAV) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum4th 390,000 bestsellery.zpav.pl
Sweden (IFPI) Sweden (IFPI) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 100,000 sverigetopplistan.se
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 125,000 hitparade.ch
Spain (Promusicae) Spain (Promusicae) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 5 × gold5 Platinum record icon.svg 23 × platinum23 2,550,000 promusicae.es ES1 ES2 ES3 ES4
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 Platinum record icon.svg 16 × platinum16 8,050,000 riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Silver record icon.svg 4 × silver4th Gold record icon.svg 8 × gold8th Platinum record icon.svg 11 × platinum11 3,415,000 bpi.co.uk
All in all Silver record icon.svg 4 × silver4th Gold record icon.svg 46 × gold46 Platinum record icon.svg 110 × platinum110

honors and awards

Domingo received several high honors, such as B. Prince of Asturias Prize (Spain, 1991), Kennedy Center Honoree (USA, 2000), Honorary Knighthood (Great Britain, 2002), Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (France, 2002), Presidential Medal of Freedom ( USA, 2002), World Award in the World Achievement Award category (2003), Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st Class , etc., and honorary doctorates from the Royal Northern College of Music (England, 1982), the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts ( USA, 1982), Oklahoma City University (USA, 1984), Complutense University Madrid (Spain, 1989), University of New York (USA, 1990), Georgetown University (USA, 1992), Washington College of Chestertown (USA, 2000), Universidad Anáhuac (Mexico, 2001), Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy , Warsaw (Poland, 2003) and Oxford University (England, 2003), Classical Brit Award (England, May 2006, for its 2006 published studio recording Tristan and Isolde and for his life's work) as well as the Great Si Silver Medal of Honor of the Republic of Austria (2007) and the Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna . He is a Bavarian (2005) and Austrian chamber singer . He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2000 . He is also an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera and holder of their Ring of Honor (2012) and the Ring of Honor of the City of Vienna (1994). A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame bears his name. In 2008 he received a "Bambi" and in 2009 he was the first to be awarded the Birgit Nilsson Prize , worth one million dollars . Also in 2009 he received the ECHO Klassik Prize for his life's work at the Semperoper in Dresden . In November 2010 he received the Latin Grammy Award "Person of the Year" for his "professional and philanthropic services". In 2013 he was honored with the Japanese Praemium Imperiale . In 2015 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Salamanca . In 2020 he was awarded the Austrian Music Theater Prize for his life's work.

Plácido Domingo as the keynote speaker at the National Endowment for the Arts 2008

Trivia

A doll from Sesame Street named Placido Flamingo (also called “Blaffido Flamingo” in the English original) was named after the opera singer and is thus a cocky opera star. Domingo himself appeared as a guest in a duet with the doll.

In the Hollywood film Manolo and the Book of Life from 2014, Domingo speaks the great-grandfather Manolo.

literature

Web links

Commons : Plácido Domingo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Plácido Domingo, My first forty years (Knopf, 1983), p. 7; Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Macmillan, 1980), p. 533; Daniel Snowman, Plácido Domingo's Tales from the Opera (Amadeus, 1994), p. 9; Helena Matheopoulos, Plácido Domingo - My Operatic Roles (Little Brown, 2000) p. 10 ff. With a birth certificate and baptismal certificate printed. In older sources there are partly different information, such as the year 1934 in Karl Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens, Das Großes Sängerlexikon (2nd, newly edited and expanded edition, Francke 1982; corrected to 1941 in later editions); Attila Csampai and Dietmar Holland: Giacomo Puccini: Tosca. Texts, materials, comments (rororo opera book, 1980), p. 263; Harold Rosenthal and John Warack, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (2nd edition, Oxford University Press 1979, corrected to 1941 in later editions); on the other hand, see Stanley Sadie and Alison Latham, The Norton / Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music (Macmillan, 1994), p. 213, 1937.
  2. WAZ : star tenor Plácido Domingo now sings baritone roles ; accessed on 21 Sep. 2013
  3. Blatter vows to restore FIFA's credibility at edition.cnn.com
  4. Harassment allegations: Domingo leaves LA Opera at tagesschau.de
  5. apr / hpi / AP: Plácido Domingo: More women accuse opera star of harassment. In: Spiegel Online . September 5, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  6. Plácido Domingo admits sexual misconduct towards women , on zeit.de, from February 25, 2020.
  7. xvc / afp: Sexual harassment: Plácido Domingo apologizes. In: Spiegel Online . February 25, 2020, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  8. ^ LA Opera Independent Investigation: Summary of Findings and Recommendations , LA Opera, March 10, 2020
  9. a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
  10. ^ Book of Members. Retrieved July 23, 2016 .
  11. Plácido Domingo reivindica la presencia de la música en todos los niveles de la Educación al recibir el doctorado honoris causa por la Universidad de Salamanca. ( Memento of January 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Message of January 13, 2015 on saladeprensa.usal.es (Spanish), accessed on January 14, 2015.
  12. Austrian Music Theater Prize: Domingo receives prize for his life's work. In: The press . July 26, 2020, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  13. Placido Flamingo. In: SesameStreet.org . Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  14. Classic Sesame Street - Look Through the Window (Placido Flamingo and Plácido Domingo).