Domingo promises magical night of surprises for Korean opera fans

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- Forty years have passed since his debut and almost a
decade has gone by since the celebrated artist last met his fans in Korea.
"Artists are most happy when they succeed in making the public forget their daily
troubles. I hope this will happen tomorrow," Spanish tenor Placido Domingo said
ahead of his long-awaited Seoul concert Tuesday. "It will be a magical evening."
"Although I have no such plans right now, the time is certainly closer to my
retirement," Domingo said at a press conference in Seoul Monday. "Every morning I
wake up feeling great about the fact that I can still sing. But I do not want to
make a mistake of singing one more day than I should."
The 68-year-old king of opera, considered one of the world's greatest tenors
alongside Jose Carreras and the late Luciano Pavarotti, will be accompanying
British classical and crossover musician Katherine Jenkins this time.
The concert will not only consist of classical music but other repertoires as
well that span popular hits from the past, including "Tonight" from the musical
"West Side Story," and the waltz duet from "The Merry Widow."
"Sometimes people come to opera just for the well-known names (of singers), not
for the love of opera," Domingo said. "So I think it's important that we present
people with music that all can enjoy. The combination of all music genres brings
us closer to the public."
Previous reports said Domingo will also be singing classic Korean songs. He
declined to give further information, however, saying, "Surprises are meant to
remain surprises."
Winning him even greater international recognition outside of the world of opera,
Domingo participated in "The Three Tenors" concert at the opening of the 1990
World Cup in Rome alongside Carreras and Pavarotti. The concert was later
repeated a number of times, including in Seoul in 2001.
Domingo holds the world record for the longest ovation on the operatic stage with
101 curtain calls and 80 minutes non-stop applause after performing Otello,
Verdi's operatic version of Shakespeare's Othello in 1975.
"Searching for talented young singers is one of the most satisfactory way of
nurturing one's career," Domingo said. "It is a wonderful experience to find
young people who grew up listening to my music and it's also important that we
keep on finding these young stars."
It was such belief that led Domingo to choose mezzo-soprano Jenkins and South
Korean soprano Lee Ji-young to accompany him in the upcoming concert.
Jenkins, often referred to as "the next Sarah Brightman," has been delving into
diverse genres including opera, pop-music and musicals. Lee participated at the
Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in 2004 and is currently a member of the
Washington National Opera.
The concert will be held at the Seoul Olympic Park Gymnastics Arena accompanied
by the 80-piece Korea Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Eugene Kohn.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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