My First Forty Years.....and Counting

When the first edition of this book was published, Plácido Domingo was described as ‘a charismatic singer who has not only been heard in major tenor roles at most of the world’s opera houses but is also a fine pianist and conductor.’ Today, nearly twenty years later, the description must be revised - upward. Domingo has provided completely new material for this edition. In the substantial introduction, he summarizes his activities since 1983 - new roles, increased conducting engagements, the growing importance of his Operalia World Opera Contest, his artistic directorship of the Washington and Los Angeles opera companies and, of course, the astonishing success of the Three Tenors concerts that he, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti have given all over the world. Domingo also recounts personal joys and sorrows, family matters and friendships. The central portion of this delightful book reprints the text of the popular but long out of print original edition, documenting the private and professional sides of Domingo’s remarkable life until shortly after his forty-second birthday. It is a highly intelligent artist’s account of his collaborations with the most celebrated singers, conductors and producers of his time, a penetrating discussion of roles, singing, musicianship and stagecraft, and a fascinating commentary on the current state of opera. In the new epilogue, this man of apparently boundless energy, now entering his seventh decade, discusses plans for the future. Throughout these memoirs his warmth, perspicacity this book’s pages just as they do from the stages of the world’s great theatres.