6 of Plácido Domingo's Greatest Performances

With more than 4000 career performances in 150 different roles, here are some of Placido Domingo’s most iconic and significant performances. 

1. Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)

In January 1967 Domingo made his first ever European debut after being invited by the Hamburg Opera to perform in Tosca. Within only 4 months, he made his Vienna State Opera debut in the title role of Don Carlo, and by the end of the year he had also performed in Berlin, Houston, Baltimore, Lima, Santiago, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, and had added several more operas to his ever-growing repertoire.

2. Adriana Lecouvreur (Francesco Cilea)

On the 28th September 1968 came Domingo's Met Opera debut - in Adriana Lecouvreur, alongside Renata Tebaldi in the title role. He had been scheduled to sing there for the first time four days later, but when tenor Franco Corelli cancelled at the last minute, Domingo was called in. He enjoyed great success at both performances. 

3. Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)

Another very important performance for Domingo came on 27 July 1969, with his debut in Italy – the country in which opera was born. Performing at the world-famous Arena di Verona, singing the role of Calaf for the first time opposite the legendary Birgit Nilsson, in Puccini’s Turandot. 

4. La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)

In the fall of 1973, Domingo had yet another debut - but this time playing a very different role. Whilst he was performing at The Met with the New York City Opera, it was his first performance conducting in La Traviata and Il Trovatore. This would be the first of many conducting roles to come over the following years.

After Domingo's 1975 film debut in Madama Butterly, there came his first cinema release debut in La Traviata in 1983, by Franco Zeffirelli.

The movie's soundtrack went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. 

5. The Three Tenors

We can’t get to the end without mentioning one of his incredible performances as one of The Three Tenors! Their debut performance came in 1990 at the FIFA World Cup Final in Rome. Performing at the famous Baths of Caracalla, they captivated audiences around the world. This began their career performing together as a trio. 

6. Giuseppe Verdi, Otello

Finally, Domingo's most famous role has been his one in Otello, which he performed 225 times and he was closely identified with it for a quarter of a century!

Domingo made his opera debut in the small role of Borsa in Rigoletto, in Mexico City in 1959, and two years later, in Monterrey, Mexico, he sang Alfredo in La Traviata – his first leading role. Altogether, he has sung twenty-six different roles in seventeen different Verdi operas, not counting parts that he only recorded but did not perform on stage. His first time performing Otello was September 28th 1975.

In a recent interview, Domingo was quoted as saying Otello was his all-time favourite Verdi role.

By Lucy