Plácido Domingo:-

singer, conductor and opera director

Plácido Domingo’s accomplishments stagger the imagination. Acclaimed on the cover of Newsweek as “The King of Opera,” he is a star of every important opera house in the world.
Born in Madrid to parents who were zarzuela performers, Plácido Domingo moved to Mexico at the age of eight. He went to the Mexico City Conservatory to study piano and conducting, but eventually was sidetracked into vocal training after his voice was discovered.

So far he has sung 126 different roles, more than any other tenor in history and still counting. He has made well over 100 recordings, of which 93 are full-length operas and for which he has won nine Grammy Awards plus two in the newly created Latin division. He has made three movies, “Otello”, “La Traviata”, and “Carmen”, and more than 50 of his roles have been preserved on video. More people have seen him perform than any tenor in history; for instance, when he sang „Tosca” from the authentic settings in Rome in 1992, the production was broadcast in 119 countries to an estimated audience of 1.5 billion. In the 90ies Plácido Domingo and his colleagues José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti – better known as „The Three Tenors“ – toured the world.
As a conductor, he has led opera companies in the world’s greatest theatres, from Covent Garden to the Met to Los Angeles Opera. He has also conducted purely symphonic concerts and has made recordings as conductor.
In 1993 Plácido Domingo inaugurated Operalia, a yearly worldwide singing competition for young singers, and was a 2000 Kennedy Center Honoree. In 2002, Plácido Domingo was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was granted the title of Honorary Knight of the British Empire, and received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University for his substantial contributions to music and the arts. As an administrator, Mr. Domingo was Music Director of the Seville World's Fair and was also one of the founders of Los Angeles Opera. In 2000, he became Artistic Director of Los Angeles Opera in addition to his position in Washington. He has raised millions of dollars through benefit concerts for the 1985 Mexican earthquake victims and is one of the most decorated entertainers before the public today. He is, in the words of Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, “A true renaissance man in music.” London’s newspaper The Guardian summed it all up recently by simply naming Plácido Domingo: "The greatest operatic artist of modern times".