14-year wait ends for night at the opera with Placido
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WTH, read it below. And, seriously, I mean, read it. This article is not really about Plácido at all...
BOW TIES and fur coats were out in full force last night as 5,000 opera fans descended on The Point in Dublin for the first Irish performance of legendary tenor Placido Domingo in 14 years.
The air was electric as the sell-out crowd waited in excited anticipation to hear the 64-year-old Spaniard sing favourites from Verdi and Wagner.
But just catching a glimpse of Domingo was enough to set the pulses racing among the largely middle-aged audience.
Attending last night's performance was a dream come true for 37-year-old Geraldine Curtis, who flew in from London especially for the concert.
She has been an opera fan since the age of 12 and has been an avid follower of Domingo ever since.
"I was watching telly with the parents and he came on and it was love at first sight," she said.
Last night's concert is the first of three of Domingo's performances that Geraldine will attend this year, having secured tickets for two of his London dates in the summer.
"I've been counting down the days on my calendar. I can't wait. I've never seen him before but I've got three different versions of his Verdi's 'Otello' on DVD and two on CD. But I'm not obsessed, although my friends at work told me that I would be drooling today," she said.
The singer's good looks, charisma, voice and acting ability were what drew sisters Ann O'Donoghue (68) and Phyllis O'Dowd (67).
"I'm all excited. I've never seen him before but I have all of his tapes," said Ann. "I prefer him out of the three tenors. You'd smother your mother with him, he's so gorgeous," added Phyllis.
Even men find him attractive, according to die-hard opera fan Joe Barnes (70), from Blackrock, who has every CD and DVD Domingo ever recorded and who saw him in Verona last summer.
President McAleese was due to meet the tenor after the show but had to cancel at the last moment due to illness.
