We don't want our Plácido to be a pop culture icon. I think he is above such things. When you are supremely talented, exceedingly cool, totally gorgeous, and rich beyond imagination, you really don't need to be a 'pop culture icon' whatever one of those is. And I do not think that Plácido is anyway concerned with such considerations. Okay, so he's going to be on The Simpsons, but I bet he's doing that as much for his grandchildren as for fans (and potential fans). I think he just wants to enjoy life; the fact that he creates joy for his very many fans is just a bonus.
And no, Domingo does not keep a portrait in the attic to assure eternal youth, as in Wilde's A Portrait of Dorian Gray, or possess a secret potion to prolong life, as does Emilia Marty in Janacek's "The Makropulos Case." On the persistent question of retirement, he remains elusive. "I don't want to predict anything," he said. "Because every time I say something [and then keep going], they say, 'Well, Placido, you said you would be retiring.' So I don't want to say anything. Some day of course I will retire [from singing] but until then ..."
I know like twenty years ago he did a lot of popular/light entertainment stuff, but I don't think he can be bothered nowadays, unless he actually wants to. Pop culture icons tend to be transitory; he's not.
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