The legendary Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo recently took the stage at Galaxy Macau for a one-off performance, marking the first time in nine years that he has been in our corner of the globe. If the name Domingo doesn’t immediately ring a bell, then perhaps The Three Tenors will – Plácido Domingo is one-third of this famous operatic super trio alongside Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras. Apart from embodying over 150 roles within his illustrious career – the most famous of which include Cavaradossi in Tosca and Don José in Carmen – the legendary Spanish singer has also served as the general director for both the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. Here’s what we thought of his recent concert Galaxy Opera Gala with Plácido Domingo and guests.
It might not be immediately apparent to every traveller that turns up on the doorsteps of the luxury integrated resort Galaxy Macau, but among their eight hotels and multitudes of shopping, dining, and entertainment venues, it is also home to the Galaxy International Convention Center (GICC). Directly connected to the Andaz Macau hotel, it could not be more of a breeze to get to, unlike a lot of other large-scale convention centres that are usually located towards the outskirts of the city hubbub.
Domingo’s concert was held in Hall A of the GICC, right next to the entrance of Andaz Macau. There was a palpable sense of excitement thrumming through the crowd of concert-goers, VIP guests, and KOLs as they posed against the event’s billboard under the glimmering two-storey chandelier and snacked on finger foods. After all, this is truly a one-in-a-lifetime experience – there’s no telling when the 83-year-old Domingo might announce his retirement from the stage, or when he might ever perform in Asia again, let alone so close to Hong Kong.
Under the baton of Italian conductor Beatrice Venezi, the Shenzhen Symphony Opera kicked off the evening with a spirited rendition of Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro – Overture’. The 34-year-old Venezi, who has already led orchestras all over the world, was a revelation, wielding her baton with authority, no small amount of energy, and a certain level of pizazz.
From the moment Domingo himself took the stage to rapturous applause and performed his first song of the evening, ‘Nemico della Patria’ from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, the audience was spellbound. The artist’s natural debonair quietness gives way to a marvellous gravitas and stage presence as soon as he starts singing. Having listened to him live, it’s easy to see why Domingo has been touted by the BBC as possibly the greatest tenor ever.
While other notable tenors such as Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli are known to belt it out most beautifully, Domingo applies a more sensitive touch to his musicianship. The listener gets the feeling that he is truly performing, deep in acting as the characters from his arias. Any technical unsteadiness – and there was a little vocal wobbling as might be expected in a singer of his age – merely sinks into the emotions that he evokes in character, beautifully portraying the anguish of a spiralling prince in Macbeth, to the joy and melancholy of a man who has returned to his hometown after a lifetime away in Los Gavilanes. And when he sustained those long ending notes, Domingo’s proud tenor ring easily carried souls up to the rafters.
The veteran singer also brought moments of levity to his concert, twirling soprano Bingbing Wang into a sweet little dance during their joint number ‘Lippen schweigen’ from The Merry Widow, and acting as the love-smitten macareno bullfighter Rafael opposite Anna-Doris Capitelli’s sensual Soleá in their duet ‘¿Me Ilamabas, Rafaeliyo?’ from El gato montés.
Of the two guest singers that accompanied Domingo in this concert, we were particularly taken with the German-Italian mezzo-soprano Capitelli, who turned in a fantastic performance of the well-known ‘Habanera’ from Carmen and makes for a delightful Luisa in ‘Carceleras’ from Las hijas del Zebedeo with a seductive spark that shone through the rapid-fire articulation required for the song.
The audience, on the other hand, seemed to prefer the glitter of Italy-based Chinese soprano Bingbing Wang, who was fresh from her run as the slave girl Liù in Turandot with Opera Hong Kong. She sang two arias from the Puccini opera, and later added some audience interaction into her performance of ‘Meine Lippen Sie küssen so heiß’ from Giuditta, pulling an older man from the seats into an impromptu waltz.
Even after wrapping up with a joint performance from all three singers, it was clear that the audience couldn’t get enough of Domingo and his rich, dramatic tenor, stubbornly applauding until he returned to the stage for not one, not two, but five encores. It was an evening of great musicality from one of the most commanding opera singers of his time, as well as a time for newer talents to dazzle. We can’t wait to see what Galaxy Macau will bring to their stage next – keep an eye on their website for further events.