Plácido Domingo

Acting

Plácido Domingo

Born 1941-01-21 · Madrid, Spain

Although born in Madrid, Spain, Placido Domingo spent a major portion of his life living in Mexico City where he graduated from the Mexico City Conservatory. His first operatic performance was in a staging of La Traviata in Monterrey playing Alfredo. He was then a Tenor for the Israel National Opera and subsequently moved to Europe.

Acting credits

The Book of Life poster
7.5

The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

The Book of Life

2014

Moulin Rouge! poster
7.5

A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.

Moulin Rouge!

2001

Beverly Hills Chihuahua poster
5.4

A pampered Beverly Hills chihuahua named Chloe who, while on vacation in Mexico with her owner Viv's niece, Rachel, gets lost and must rely on her friends to help her get back home before she is caught by a dognapper who wants to ransom her.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

2008

Andrea Chénier poster
7.3

Live from ROH 1985. Giordano's Andrea Chenier is one of the greatest of verismo operas, full of heart-stopping big tunes and powerful emotional situations. If it is not as well-known as it should be, it is because in summary it sounds a little too like Puccini's Tosca: there is a tussle between political opponents over a woman, an attempt to save a condemned man, a tenor aria about writing poetry on the eve of execution. The difference is that Gerard (Giorgio Zancanaro) is not a villain like Scarpia, he is an idealist whom the French Revolution has betrayed as much as it has his rival the poet Chenier (Placido Domingo). His temptation to abuse his power to seduce the virtuous Maddalena (Anna Tomowa-Sintow) is a momentary one, though its consequences are terrible. There is a streak of post-Wagnerian decadence in much of this--Maddalena is at least as much in love with death as she is with Chenier, and the final love duet has a deeply sinister aspect. -- From Amazon.co.uk

Andrea Chénier

1985

To Play and to Fight poster
8.0

The captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela’s towns and villages. Once a modest program designed to expose rural children to the wonders of music, the system has become one of the most important and beautiful music phenomena in modern history. To Play and To Fight presents interviews and performances by many of the world’s most renowned musicians including the great tenor Placido Domingo, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Guiseppe Sinopoli, and Eduardo Mata, as they reflect on the impact of such a far-reaching social project. The documentary also presents the inspirational stories of world class musicians who have been trained by the Venezuelan system, including The Berlin Philharmonic’s youngest player Edicson Ruiz and world class conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

To Play and to Fight

2007

Meyerbeer: L'Africaine poster
7.5

This was a 1988 revival of a 1971 production that teamed Domingo (Vasco da Gama) and Verrett (Selika - both then very much in their prime) in Meyerbeer's discursive swan-song. Seventeen years on, they are more statuesque than sexy, but both give larger-than-life performances that contain moments of completely thrilling vocalism. The casting is very strong, with the exception of Justino Diaz's Nelusko, which has strong presence but not much vocal allure. As Inez, Vasco da Gama's fiancee and rival for Shirley Verrett, Ruth Ann Swneson sings with great beauty and has impressive stage presence, very much holding her own in the confrontation with Verrett in the last act. Domingo is refulgent of tone and dramatically convincing, and he and Verrett strike sparks. She really comes into her own in one of the most preposterous mad-scenes in all opera, where she is slowly poisoned by the scent of a giant tree, contriving to make this dramatically truthful and even moving.

Meyerbeer: L'Africaine

1988

Night of 100 Stars II poster
6.8

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.

Night of 100 Stars II

1985

Traces to Nowhere: The Conductor Carlos Kleiber poster
NR

A documentary about the life and career of the conductor Carlos Kleiber. Featuring interviews with Placido Domingo, Brigitte Fassbaender, Manfred Honeck, Michael Gielen, and others. On the 11th July 2004 Carlos Kleiber got into his car and drove from Munich, via the Alps, to his holiday home in the remote Slovenian village of Konjsica. There he wrote a final letter to a friend in which he bid farewell to the world. A short time later the conductor, increasingly plagued by illness and suffering, was found dead.

Traces to Nowhere: The Conductor Carlos Kleiber

2010

No artwork available
NR

Hosted by Jane Fonda and Robert Wagner, this TV special celebrates the XXIIIrd Olympiad with all-star guests at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

Olympic Gala

1984

Symphony for the Spire poster
8.5

An impressive lineup of international stars puts on a spectacular "Symphony for the Spire" to kick off the world-famous Salisbury Arts Festival in 1991, held on the Salisbury Cathedral's West Green. Segments feature individual performances by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, American soprano Jessye Norman and cellist Ofra Harnoy, as well as a special staging of Shakespeare's "Henry V" starring Kenneth Branagh and Charlton Heston.

Symphony for the Spire

1992

Andrea Bocelli - The Celebration:30th Anniversary poster
9.7

Filmed at the Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence) in Lajatico over three nights in 2024 and marking his 30th year as an artist, this once-in-a-lifetime event sees classical star Andrea Bocelli appear in his home of Tuscany with a star-studded lineup of special guests to perform songs that have been the pillars of his career. This 4-disc package features two shows – “The Celebration” and “30 Years of Musical Inspiration” and over 4 and a half hours of performances. Bocelli is joined by an 80-piece orchestra, a cast of over 200 musicians and family and friends including Ed Sheeran, Jon Batiste, Shania Twain, Brian May and more. It’s a night that transforms both the landscape and beautiful Tuscan sky into something totally spectacular. The result: a mesmerising and truly unforgettable concert.

Andrea Bocelli - The Celebration:30th Anniversary

2025

Il Trovatore - Verdi poster
6.3

The gypsy Azucena (Fiorenza Cossotto) takes revenge for her mother who was accused of putting a curse on one of the old Count di Luna's two sons: she decides to abduct the younger child and throw it in the flames. But when she is about to carry out this fatal act, the gypsy sacrifices her own child and keeps the old Count’s son, whom she names Manrico (IL TROVATORE, Plácido Domingo). Later, as adults, the troubadour Manrico and the Count di Luna’s elder son (Piero Cappucilli) do not know each other, but become rivals for the beautiful Leonora (Raina Kabaivanska). Manrico succeeds in winning the young woman’s heart, and she sacrifices herself for him, deceiving the Count’s son. Mad with jealousy, the latter orders the execution of the troubadour in front of his mother. Azucena reveals to him that Manrico was his brother. This legendary performance of Giuseppe Verdi's most successful opera was recorded at the Vienna State Opera under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.

Il Trovatore - Verdi

1978

Royal Opera House: La Traviata poster
6.0

Alfredo Germont and the courtesan Violetta Valéry fall in love at a party in Violetta's Paris salon. Alfredo is determined to cure Violetta of her tuberculosis, and the couple leave Paris and begin a contented life in the country. But Violetta's happiness is destroyed when Alfredo's father Giorgio Germont pays her a visit. Richard Eyre's stunning naturalistic production contrasts the superficial glamour of 19th-century Parisian high life with intimate scenes for Violetta with Alfredo and Giorgio Germont, culminating in the heart-breaking final act.

Royal Opera House: La Traviata

2019

La Fanciulla del West poster
10.0

Giancarlo Del Monaco’s atmospheric production brings to colorful life a 19th-century mining camp during the California Gold Rush. At the center of the action is the good-hearted bar owner Minnie, sung by Barbara Daniels, who takes a motherly interest in the miners. Plácido Domingo is Dick Johnson, also known as the bandit Ramerrez, who falls in love with Minnie. Sherrill Milnes sings Jack Rance, the sheriff who is not only determined to capture Ramerrez but also wants Minnie for himself. Bloodshed, a crooked poker game, a snowstorm, and a near lynching ensue before Minnie and her bandit-turned-lover can ride off to start a new life. Leonard Slatkin conducts one of Puccini’s most colorful scores.

La Fanciulla del West

1992

Pavarotti poster
7.3

Featuring never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews, filmmaker Ron Howard examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Pavarotti

2019

Gianni Schicchi poster
6.6

Woody Allen's production of the Puccini comic opera at LA Opera in 2015

Gianni Schicchi

2015

Handel: Tamerlano poster
NR

This majestic production of Handel's vivid tragedy, TAMERLANO, stars a Lear-like Placido Domingo as the Turkish Sultan Bajazet, caught between pride, love, and loyalty. Displaying the uniquely heroic quality of his voice, Domingo heads a superb cast, including Sara Mingardo, Monica Bacelli, and Ingela Bohlin, all magnificently responsive to Paul McCreesh's authentic and luminous musical interpretation of the score. The stunning theatrical staging by Graham Vick provides a splendid setting for the characters and for designer Richard Hudson's extravagant Baroque-Islamic costumes, emphasizing the brilliance of one of Handel's finest dramatic achievements.

Handel: Tamerlano

2008

Die Fledermaus poster
8.2

Most opera houses ring in the New Year with Johann Strauss Jr.'s most popular operetta--the festiveness of which is appropriate for the occasion--and this December 31, 1983, Covent Garden performance follows suit. An exceptional cast--led by Hermann Prey and Kiri Te Kanawa as the couple whose marriage survives the comic indiscretions of three long acts--obviously has as much fun as the audience. Plácido Domingo leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House through its paces with panache. Prince Orlofsky's Act II party is always a splendid opportunity to pull out all the stops with surprise "guests," and this performance makes the most of its chance: entering the proceedings to sing one of his tailor-made chansons, "She," is French crooner Charles Aznavour, who is followed by dancers Merle Park and Wayne Eagling, their delightful pas de deux flashily choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton.

Die Fledermaus

1984

Night of 100 Stars poster
5.8

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.

Night of 100 Stars

1982

Roméo et Juliette - Wiener Staatsoper poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Roméo et Juliette - Wiener Staatsoper

2017

Luisa Fernanda poster
NR

Placido Domingo heads an internationally renowned cast in Emilio Sagi's stylish new production for Madrid's Teatro Real of Moreno Torroba's enduring zarzuela, whose story itself is set in the Spanish capital. Filmed using high definition cameras and recorded in true surround sound.

Luisa Fernanda

2006

Stiffelio - The Met poster
NR

Giuseppe Verdi's opera of religion, revenge and redemption gets the star treatment in this 1993 Metropolitan Opera production conducted by James Levine and starring Plácido Domingo as the cuckolded man of God at the center of the tale. Sharon Sweet sings the role of Domingo's adulteress wife and Vladimir Chernov plays the vengeful father in this rarely staged gem directed by Giancarlo del Monaco and filmed by Brian Large.

Stiffelio - The Met

1993

Amor, vida de mi vida: Zarzuelas poster
NR

The many passionate, fiery or lyrical vocal pieces of Spanish zarzuela have continued to thrive in concert and recitals all over the world. One of the most renowned and ardent supporters of zarzuela melodies is Plácido Domingo. Belying his 66 years, the world-famous tenor sings these rousing, seductive melodies with the beguiling sweetness of a much younger man and tranports the enraptured listener to the calles and plazas of Madrid and Seville, Domingo is accompanied by Mozarteum Orchestra underJesús López Cobos and, above all, by his partner for the evening, sprano Ana Maria Martínez, "a beautiful woman with a fascinating voice, full of velvety mezzoish half-tints in the middle and bottom ranges, with a gleaming top." (London Times) Martínez and Domingo serve up an evening of infectious good spirits and exquisite vocal treats."The dazzle of genuine stars shone brightly over Salzburg!" (Die Welt)

Amor, vida de mi vida: Zarzuelas

2009

Aida poster
6.4

AIDA, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radamès is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return her feelings. Sonja Frisell’s production captures all the grandeur and excitement of Verdi’s monumental opera, particularly the great triumphal scene where the Egyptian army, led by Radamès (Plácido Domingo), returns victorious from war. Aprile Millo is Aida, the slave girl whose love for Radamès has her squaring off with Amneris (Dolora Zajick), the Egyptian princess who also loves him. Sherrill Milnes is Amonasro, and James Levine leads The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet.

Aida

1989

Behind the camera