Plácido Domingo

José Plácido Domingo Embil was born on 21 January 1941 in Madrid, Spain. His mother believed he was destined for music from age five, after he hummed a complex zarzuela melody from memory. In 1949, just before his eighth birthday, his family moved to Mexico, where his parents—both singers—formed a zarzuela company. Domingo soon won a boys' singing contest and occasionally performed children's roles in his parents' productions. He began piano lessons young, later studying at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City from age fourteen. There, he attended conducting classes with Igor Markevitch and voice lessons with Carlo Morelli, the brother of Renato Zanelli. These conservatory classes were his only formal vocal training; he never had a private singing teacher.

At sixteen, in 1957, Domingo made his professional debut by accompanying his mother on piano at a Mérida concert. That same year, he debuted in a major zarzuela role—a baritone part in *Gigantes y cabezudos*. He worked with his parents' company, taking baritone roles and accompanying other singers. In 1958, when a tenor in a touring production of *Luisa Fernanda* fell ill, Domingo replaced him, despite fearing the tessitura was too high. Later that year, he sang the tenor role of Rafael in *El gato montés*, showing his willingness to explore the tenor range even while still identifying as a baritone. On 12 May 1959, at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara, he performed the baritone role of Pascual in *Marina*. He also took a minor role in the first Latin American production of *My Fair Lady*, serving as assistant conductor and coach; the company performed it 185 times across Mexico.

In 1959, Domingo auditioned for the Mexico National Opera as a baritone but was asked to sight-read the tenor aria "Amor ti vieta" from *Fedora*. He was accepted as a tenor comprimario and tutor. His operatic debut came on 23 September at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, singing Borsa in *Rigoletto* alongside Cornell MacNeil and Norman Treigle. He later performed small roles in *Dialogues of the Carmelites*, *Turandot*, *Lucia di Lammermoor*, and others. While at the National Opera, he also appeared in *The Merry Widow*, alternating between Camille and Danilo.

Domingo has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is known for his versatility, singing in Italian, French, German, Spanish, English, and Russian at top opera houses worldwide. For most of his career, he was a lirico-spinto tenor, famous for roles like Cavaradossi, Hoffmann, Don José, and Canio, but he soon moved into heavier dramatic parts, becoming the most celebrated Otello of his era. In the early 2010s, he shifted to exclusively baritone roles, such as Simon Boccanegra. By 2020, he had performed 151 different roles.

He also found success as a crossover artist, especially in Latin and popular music. He has won fourteen Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, and many of his records achieved silver, gold, platinum, or multi-platinum status. His first pop album, *Perhaps Love* (1981), brought him fame beyond opera; its title duet with John Denver sold nearly four million copies and led to numerous TV appearances. Domingo starred in several opera films, many directed by Franco Zeffirelli. In 1990, he joined Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras as part of The Three Tenors; their first recording became the best-selling classical album ever.

Growing up in his parents' zarzuela company in Mexico, Domingo has since promoted this Spanish opera form regularly. He increasingly conducts operas and concerts, and served as general director of the Los Angeles Opera from 2003 to 2019. He was artistic director and later general director of the Washington National Opera from 1996 to 2011. He has been involved in humanitarian work and efforts to support young opera singers, including founding and running the international singing competition Operalia. Since 2019, he has performed continuously in cities including Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Graz, Madrid, Mérida, Milan, Monte Carlo, Moscow, Munich, Palermo, Rome, Salzburg, Sofia, Verona, Versailles, Vienna, and Zurich.