Placido Domingo Overwhelmed As Native Madrileño Returns For Gala
The great Spanish tenor, Placido Domingo, returned to his home town, yesterday, 9th June for a gala performance that left him overwhelmed with emotion.
The 81 year old opera singer was visibly moved, and had to pause as the audience of over 1,600 people gave Madrid´s native son a prolonged standing ovation amid shouts of ” Bravo!” and “Maestro!” at the Auditorio Nacional de Música.
The gala performance was organised by the Fundacion Excelencia, to help raise funds with the Red Cross, for people who had been impacted by the pandemic.
@PlacidoDomingo stepped onto the stage in Madrid and the walls of the Auditorio Nacional shook with applause as the great singer returned to sing in his native city again. For screams of "bravo" and "you're the greatest" he had to wait several minutes before starting to sing. pic.twitter.com/Q8FP5yrnX7
— Katerina Waldersee (@KWaldersee) June 9, 2021
The audience included the Madrid regional premier, Isabel Diaz Ayuso as well as other leading dignitaries.
Domingo was joined for the gala with other leading lights from the world of Spanish opera including Ainhoa Arteta, Virginia Tola and Nicholas Brownlee and accompanied by the Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia.
The veteran star had said he wanted to support the cause and that “music unites us and bonds with the heart of the Red Cross Responds solidarity project” and that to sing to a home audience is always a “great emotion” he added.
This was the first concert he had given in Madrid since 2019.
Placido Domingo was born in the Retiro district of Madrid in 1941, but moved with his parents to Mexico, where they performed traditional Spanish zarzuelas.
He subsequently went on to become one of the greatest musical stars in the world, winning fourteen Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, as well having a string of multi-platinum albums.
His collaboration with fellow tenors Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras as part of The Three Tenors, resulted in the biggest selling classical album of all time.
