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Too much has darkened in this man's career and demeanor.
“The most famous singer in the world” - that is still Plácido Domingo.
Although “the most famous” doesn't necessarily mean “the best”.
The most famous was Domingo back in 2011, four years after the death of his greatest living rival Luciano Pavarotti, who carried people away with his charm, his real high C, his honey-colored voice and the almost clichéd demeanor of an Italian tenor.
All that was and is not Plácido Domingo.
He is friendly, affectionate, engaging, even modest when you talk to him.
And he speaks very softly.
There is none of that displacement effect that often occurs when superstars enter a room.
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But Domingo always remains a little non-binding.
At the same time he is focused and wants to introduce his topic and bring his projects to the table.
He has a lot of them.
Even today.
He conducts.
He sings.
Unfortunately, both make you sad.
Domingo's reactions to the MeToo allegations by dozens of women who have accompanied him for two years are also sad.
He is said to have molested her, groped her, demanded sex.
The fans hold steadfast to Placido Domingo, despite MeToo allegations
Source: Getty Images
That went on for decades.
Especially during his time as an opera director in Washington and Los Angeles.
Every industry insider these years has a story of Domingo in store.
So far none of this has come to a court.
It is time-barred.
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He himself denied it, admitted it, apologized half-heartedly, then negated it again.
The once common behavior of a powerful white man who no one dares to take action against.
In classical music, people are still used to accepting to keep the beautiful appearance.
The fans, mostly old and female, hold steadfast to their Plácido.
The opera houses in many places, which since his Berlin “Simon Boccanegra” debut in 2009 had become a baritone tenorissimo against any artistic sense of responsibility, then threw him out all the more rudely.
First and foremost the New York Metropolitan Opera, where Plácido Domingo was able to celebrate his 50th anniversary.
In Russia he can still sing
In Spain, where he was a kind of national saint for a long time, the man who was born in Madrid and grew up in Mexico is now persona non grata.
Likewise in Germany, the USA, England, France.
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He is still left in Russia, also in Italy, where many of his ancient buddies are now opera directors.
And in Vienna, where he has an apartment.
Today, on his 80th birthday, he is rehearsing for Verdi's “Nabucco”.
The title role.
A joke that will also be streamed live on the website of the Vienna State Opera on January 22nd.
Plácido Domingo sings Otello
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But is Plácido Domingo only turning 80 today?
Or 83?
People who have known him well and for a long time credibly swear that in the good times of Deutsche Grammophon, when it was a permanent guest at Scala and just as often invited the artists to have celebrated Domingo's 40th birthday in Milan at least three times.
Now he should finally stop so as not to darken his fame even more.
Obviously he can't.
Who would have thought that the tenor hero of the beautiful world would turn into a rather tragic joke in five years!
The voice, shaky, short of breath, still with a tenor timbre and no baritone depth, is just a shadow.
It's sad to see this charismatic, self-assured, erotic singer at his peak.
Otello, Samson, Alfredo, Don José sang none of his era as glowing as Domingo.
Not even his rivals from the three tenors community of property.
Pavarotti was the smiling napkin swivel, Carreras the boyish, freshly in love.
But Domingo was the guy, the macho, the testosterone artist.
Plácido Domingo is still combative on his website: “If you rest, you rust.” But the dates have long since become manageable.
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It all started so sunny.
He was officially born in Madrid on January 21, 1941, performed early in his parents' Mexican Zarzuela company and made his debut in 1959 in Mexico City in a supporting baritone role in Verdi's “Rigoletto”.
He quickly and consistently became one of the most important tenors in the world.
Domingo never had a vocal crisis
Only Enrico Caruso is still taller than him.
Beniamino Gigli sang sweeter, Mario Del Monaco louder.
No professional vocal organ has lasted that long.
62 years!
Plácido Domingo never had a vocal crisis.
Driven by an insatiable appetite for roles, he has sung 151 opera roles, has made 100 total recordings and 50 video films.
And there you see Domingo as he was - an ardent Latin lover who was never very talented as an actor and who melted everyone with his chesty bronze tones.
And with which nuances and colors did he surprise and enchant us even as Tristan or Werther. In the history of stressful but also glamorous tenor singing, there has never been someone like Plácido Domingo. It is a miracle and one of a kind. But even he, the tenorissimo, cannot stop biology.