Placido’s grandson and good friend are recruited by San Diego Opera
mainAndrea Puente-Catán, producer, lecturer, widow of the Mexican composer Daniel Catán, has joined San Diego Opera as Major Gifts Officer in charge of Hispanic donors. Catan, who died in 2011, was a close friend of Placido Domingo.
In an unrelated development, San Diego Opera has also hired Dominic Domingo, Placido’s grandson, as its director of artistic administration. Dominic has been until now assistant company manager at Los Angeles Opera, where his grandfather is general director.
What goes round, goes round.
Here we go again. Domingo Croynism and Nepotism writ large. Who keeps enabling and sponsoring this man? Are we not yet exhausted?
+100
Well you clearly aren’t. I’m not on this site long but your relentless negativity and cynicism suggests that you’re a long way from exhausted
The next thing you know, “Placido Family Enterprises” will ink additional contracts at the Cleveland-Nepotism Orchestra, joining forces with the “William and Alexandra Preucil Foundation” …
Caravaggio!
You are an ass.
Couldn’t agree more!!! This man has become a joke. And not a fun one!
Andrea Puente-Catán and her late husband, the composer and librettist Daniel Catán, have a longstanding relationship with San Diego Opera.
In 1994, San Diego Opera premiered Daniel Catán’s first opera, La Hija de Rappacini (libretto by Juan Tovar), based on Octavio Paz’s stage adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Rappacini’s Daughter.” The success of La Hija de Rappacini led to Catán’s next opera, Florencia en el Amazonas, followed by Salsipuedes: A Tale of Love, War and Anchovies, and his fourth opera, Il Postino.
How nice for Dominic. He can look after his grandmother when she comes to San Diego to direct…
Domingo does not appeal to me as a baritone, and I feel his ego is ruling both baritone and conductor roles. Retire with grace. I remember a grandson singing on a cd I have, and thought it was pretentious then.
I enthusiastically welcome Mr. Domingo and Ms. Puente-Catan to San Diego Opera, and I wish them both much success. As a life-long San Diegan and opera fan, I watched the old SDOpera become stodgy and snobby, and almost go out of business entirely before waking up to the need to expand its horizons, and I welcome the fresh outlook that Mr. Bennett and his new staff are bringing to the company.
I can’t think of anyone better positioned to direct the search for talent than Dominic Domingo, whose work with Operalia (and, let’s admit it, whose relationship with his superstar grandfather,) places him in a uniquely advantageous position to recruit the very best young singers from all over the world. He has proven himself a capable administrator at LAOpera, and he has talent in his DNA, so I expect great things from him.
Similarly, Ms. Puente-Catan is an inspired choice to connect with San Diego’s large, vibrant Hispanic community. (I do hope that SDOpera’s outreach will include staging some classic zarzuelas – something I’ve suggested for years, and would love to attend.)
As to the detractors of Placido and Marta Domingo, you are tasteless, mean-spirited fools. Marta Domingo’s sensitive direction of La Traviata in SDOpera’s 2016-2017 season was inspired, critically acclaimed, and brought near sell-out crowds to the theatre. (I would love to see SDOpera hire her to reprise her Washington National Opera production of Le Rondine.) As for Maestro Placido, his voice is admittedly no longer what it was a few decades ago, but even so, he is still among the best singing actors I’ve ever seen, and he still fills theatres wherever he performs, because his artistry remains a joy to experience. I travel to Los Angeles whenever Placido sings and conducts there, and will gladly do so as long as he continues to perform,
BRAVO to SDOpera on its wise selection of new staff!