Plácido Domingo

Born José Plácido Domingo Embil on 21 January 1941, he grew up working in his parents' zarzuela company in Mexico, apprenticed in a Spanish operatic form most singers never touch. He built his name as a lirico-spinto tenor - Cavaradossi, Hoffmann, Don José - then pushed into heavier dramatic territory, becoming the most acclaimed Otello of his generation. In 1981 he released Perhaps Love with John Denver; the duet sold nearly four million copies and opened a parallel career in crossover and Latin pop, racking up fourteen Grammys and multi-platinum records. In 1990 he joined Pavarotti and Carreras as The Three Tenors, and their first album became the best-selling classical recording ever made. He ran the Los Angeles Opera from 2003 to 2019 and Washington National Opera before that, conducted regularly, and founded Operalia to scout young singers. In the early 2010s he transitioned entirely to baritone repertoire - Simon Boccanegra among them - and as of 2020 had sung over a hundred complete operas on record. Since 2019 he has performed continuously across Europe, from Berlin to Zurich, still adding stages in his eighties.