Placido Domingo Gala (sorry, erm, Celebration) at ROH

[Prommer]

The first of two performances is tomorrow with the second on Sunday afternoon. He is singing Rigoletto (act 3), Simon Boccanegra (act 3) and Otello (act 4)...

I managed to get one ticket up in the ether... What to expect? A real artistic experience or mere ovations?

[Prommer]

Ok, to answer myself... Placido was a bit off colour in the Otello, some notes not really there; Rigoletto ok but this is the first time he has sung on stage and it showed, simply because he doesn't inhabit the part in the way he does with almost all else; Boccanegra - wow!! His interpretation is even finer than it was last year. It now seems tailor made for him.

They swapped the order around, so as to finish with SB I suspect...

Microphones were there but it is the Sunday performance which is officially to be recorded and broadcast on 5th November.

Many ovations but a mixed bag. I hope for more on Sunday...

[french frank]

Jus' so you don't feel lonely here

Here's the press release:

Opera On 3 – Domingo Celebration
Saturday 5 November
6.00-9.00pm BBC RADIO 3

Opera On 3 presents a special homage to Placido Domingo, one of the greatest voices of all time and an artist renowned worldwide, beyond the realm of music.

The Royal Opera House celebrates the 40th anniversary of his London debut with acts from three Verdi operas that have had special significance in the Spanish tenor's career. In the title roles of Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra and Otello, Domingo – who turned 70 this year – portrays three immensely complex characters, all facing dramatic actions. The recently added baritone roles of the first two are testimony to both his incredibly wide repertory and his artistic hunger.

This celebration culminates with Domingo as Otello, perhaps his most legendary portrayal and a role he's made entirely his own. Antonio Pappano, the Royal Opera House Music Director, conducts a star-studded cast.

Presenter/Andrew McGregor, Producer/Juan Carlos Jaramillo for the BBC

BBC Radio 3 Publicity


So the order has been changed, then?

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

I'm going on Sunday, so shall report back then. Am not at all surprised that he chose to open rather than finish with Otello - a demanding role, even if singing Act IV rather than the Act III initially announced.

[amateur51]

The first of two performances is tomorrow with the second on Sunday afternoon. He is singing Rigoletto (act 3), Simon Boccanegra (act 3) and Otello (act 4)...

I managed to get one ticket up in the ether... What to expect? A real artistic experience or mere ovations?

Why not ask Mandryka? He's bound to have a salty view

[Mandryka]

Why not ask Mandryka? He's bound to have a salty view

You can take the ovations as a given: Domingo is now one of those singers who merely has to appear on stage to be sure of a few rounds.

Imo, though, he has achieved this through hard work and making the best use of his considerable native talents: there has never been a singer like him in the whole history of the profession. Even as he stares mortality in the face, he is still taking on new roles, working across several different repertoires, as well as fulfilling commitments in management and conducting (people say his management skills aren't up to much, but his name alone on a masthead attracts the dollars).

And, by all accounts, he can still deliver the goods on stage. I would certainly have been at one of these events, if I could have secured tickets.

Domingo is one of the wonders of our age: we are privileged to be living at the same time as him. :)

[Prommer]

Yes, the Otello came first rather than last, and the Rigoletto was the meat in the sandwich rather than the final piece. He can stil die REALLY well, both with body and voice. The 'bacios' at the end of Otello, the 'Marias' of Boccanegra... I will remember them!

[Prommer]

It yielded new things: Domingo's first appearance in a staged performance of Rigoletto (not counting the televised Mantua one last year); first time I have heard Pappano conducting Rigoletto at the ROH (or Otello unless I missed that one); and the first time Domingo has sung Boccanegra in the Ian Judge not Elijah Moshinsky production at the ROH...

[Osborn]

I was rather touched by this delightful comment from Jose Carreras:

"His magnetism and charisma as an artist may stand out, but as a person he is generous, loyal and humble. It is because of these qualities that, if I had to choose between Plácido the artist and Plácido the man, I would choose the man."

(Guardian: Tenors on tenors)

[David Underdown]

He can certainly play dead - the length if time he played dead at the Proms Boccanegra even got Pappano worried!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Remarkable afternoon - four Verdi operas, or acts from them, were performed: Domingo in Otello, Rigoletto and Simon Boccanegra, while many of the Amphitheatre audience simultaneously gave us Act III of Traviata! Seriously, what is it with matinee audiences?

Domingo was at his best, surprisingly, as Rigoletto, which was incredibly well done and got the loudest ovation of the afternoon. He husbanded his resources through Act IV of Otello with great skill and a bit of parlando and his Boccanegra has real authority, although I wish they hadn't opted for the Ian Judge production.

Good support from Marina Poplavskaya and Ailyn Perez. I thought Pappano was sometimes a bit ponderous in the pit, dragging out 'Niun mi tema' more than I felt Domingo was comfortable with, but the double basses were fine following the Ave Maria (after reports from Thursday where they was a lack of synchronicity).

[Prommer]

Ovations galore : fewer flowers but unlike on Thursday, Placido was called out at least twice after the house lights had gone up...More like Bayreuth than Covent Garden. He was far stronger in the Otello, and much more inside the Rigoletto. The Boccanegra, as on Thursday, was quite superb. A three hankie job. iI do hope they broadcast today's
performance on Radio 3 next Saturday rather than Thursday's.... Microphones were there for both, the programmes were silent on the issue.

[underthecountertenor]

I agree with most of what Il Grande Inquisitor has said (as who would dare not to?) Great remark about La Traviata. The amphi audience was atrocious: it is simply selfish bad manners to turn up when you must know that you will be unable to prevent yourself coughing heartily for lengthy periods at a time. Otello was virtually ruined for me by this. Of course no one who had secured a ticket would want to miss this event, but surely there ought to come a point when one realises that one is so ill that one will both not enjoy the performance and ruin it for hundreds of others. If I had been closer to the main culprits, I would not have been able to contain myself.
Domingo's commitment was, as ever, simply astonishing. Of course there was husbanding of resources in Otello, but he still gave everything where it counted, with only one minor accident in the passaggio. But his Rigoletto and Boccanegra were fabulous - no allowances needed.
I'm afraid I disagree on two points. I simply cannot get on with Poplavskaya's voice: for me it is unwieldy and suffers from sour intonation, and this is by no means the first time I have witnessed this. I do not understand why the ROH champions her to the extent that it does, except that she is one of theirs, having been a (Vilar at that time?) young artist. Perez, by contrast, was lovely, and I would happily have settled for her throughgout.
The other point is the double basses. They had horrible tuning issues in Otello (and the strings generally sounded underrehearsed, as no doubt they were). An uncharacteristic lapse from this fine orchestra, especially under Pappano. But that apart he, and they, gave great support.