Plácido Domingo: At 70, a voice for the age
he’s 70 this year, and he still sounds pretty darn good...
...Domingo being Domingo, he’s not ending his official Washington tenure with just one opera — he’s conducting “Don Pasquale” as well...
...He looks into your eyes, he speaks graciously, even to a critic whose writings have, at times, caused him considerable displeasure. He often starts conversations with a personal touch, commenting on a spouse or child, a detail that it’s hard to believe he could remember...
...how human he is, how gracious, and how he treats everyone as if they’re the most important person in the world.
The article mentions Handel's Samson as a possible future role. Which, in my opinion, would be wonderful!
"I don't know which will come first, my vocal or physical limitations," he said. "I am afraid to sign [contracts to sing] four or five years from now, but they keep encouraging me, and I think, well, as long as I am not trying to sing Romeo at my age; that would be ridiculous."
In ‘Iphigenie en Tauride,’ Placido Domingo’s star still shines
the quality of the voice remains: the golden tone, the ping to the sound, even, perhaps, the long habit of being the center of onstage attention. Amid all the other singers, he made you want to listen to him...
...There was no sacrifice for Domingo. Not only was his character spared at the end of the opera, but the singer didn’t even schedule in a break after the show. The very next day, there was a rehearsal for “Don Pasquale” before the annual Opera Ball, held in his honor. Chalk up another one for star power.
Spanish tenor Domingo sings farewell to Washington
At 70 years old, he climbs ladders, rolls on the ground and his voice shakes the room: Placido Domingo is Oreste in "Iphigenie en Tauride"
Domingo is an incredible baritone. Not only does he hold real presence and power in this range, he gives it the golden lift and expressive essence of his tenor. It is unusual, riveting and truly glorious.
Savoring the rare beauty of 'Iphigenie':WNO production of Gluck opera soars with Domingo, Racette
If opera had somehow become so unfashionable, so unthinkable that no one dared create another one after 1779, we'd still be well off, for that would mean we'd still have an incredible work from that year — Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Iphigenie en Tauride"
Opinions, I imagine, will vary over the starkly modern set design and sometimes oddball costumes...The net effect suggests a vintage episode of "Star Trek." It seems that the hapless Oreste and his buddy, Pylade, have landed on one of those planets where Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock found themselves surrounded by strangely fascinating women...
...(There's quite a bit of climbing done on those rungs by cast members, even the septuagenarian Domingo, which must make some backstage personnel awfully nervous.)
Domingo uses his age-defying voice to keen effect as he creates a vivid portrayal of the tormented Oreste. It's still a thrill to hear that golden sound.
The tenor's phrasing is wonderfully nuanced, allowing him to make telling interpretive points in the brilliant mad scene of Act 2. Likewise, Domingo gets deep into the scenes where Oreste and his treasured friend, Pylade, debate their fate.
And another video clip
It's worth taking a look at Washington National Opera's blog
Placido Domingo’s big farewell at Washington’s Opera Ball at Chinese embassy
Photos and photos from the Washington Opera Ball
Iphigenie en Tauride dates: May 6,9,12,15,17,20,25,28, 2011
Don Pasquale (conducting) dates: May 13,18,21,22,26, 2011
I do like that picture at the top. He's looking particularly hot and hunky in that one, I think!
