Placido Domingo ‘dreams’ of working again with old pal Dudamel

Placido Domingo ‘dreams’ of working again with old pal Dudamel

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norman lebrecht

June 21, 2021

In a carefully worded interview with Agence France Presse, with some of his answers submitted in writing, the singer expressed his desire to return to normal relations with the media.

Domingo, 80, is also hopeful that Gustavo Dudamel’s appointment at the Opéra de Paris will enable him to sing there again:

He “dreams” of coming back to sing at the Palais Garnier, “especially with the arrival of Gustavo Dudamel”, the new musical director of the Paris Opera with whom he worked in Los Angeles, and claims to be in contact with Alexander Neef, the boss of the Opera.

He continues to receive offers to sing in “theaters around the world, including the United States.” “But it will not be me who would like to put in difficulty the theaters in which I worked all my life”.

 

 

Comments

  • The View from America says:

    Can’t wait for that to happen …

    lol

  • A.L. says:

    And why not? Both men are such crass opportunists that they deserve one another. They also share some qualities in common: Neither knows how to conduct an orchestra and both will cozy up to any criminal dictator/human rights abuser so long as the funding stream into their deep pockets keeps on giving. That’s the bottom line with these two.
    P.S.: One of the two still thinks he can still sing ….

    • anon. says:

      Every time I see someone claim Dudamel can’t conduct, I immediately class them in my head as an ignorant poser wishing to exhibit their (non-existent) knowledge and taste.

      • Stuart says:

        I concur. I have only heard Dudamel conduct live once. It was several years ago with him conducting a splendid performance of Mahler’s 9th with the LAP. On record, his survey of the four Ives symphonies is a triumph, and the recent Mahler 8th with the LAP joins my library favorites of that work with recordings conducted by Solti, Abbado, Boulez and Tennstedt. His conducting of the Prokofiev 2nd piano concerto is equally fine. Those are my only reference points.

      • Patricia says:

        He can’t. Now and again a fraud gets through and Dudamel is one such.

        • Peter says:

          Do you really think the musicians of the LA Phil, Vienna Phil, and all of the other orchestras that re-engage him would tolerate a “fraud”?

      • Novagerio says:

        Anon:
        “Every time I see someone claim Dudamel can’t conduct, I immediately class them in my head as an ignorant poser wishing to exhibit their (non-existent) knowledge and taste.”

        That’s because you’ve never seen the Dude conduct local orchestras in Mülheim or Guadalajara or Caltanissetta or Portsmouth or Arsch am Ruhr. You’ve only seen him getting a free ride from top orchestras, thanks to the strong mediatic and political projection behind him.
        Do use the adjective “ignorant” with care.

        • anon. says:

          Ah yes. Surely youth orchestras in Venezuela and LA don’t count. Only fifth tier European provincial orchestras are the real deal.

          • Novagerio says:

            Anon: You don’t get it, do you?
            A conductor has to make a difference. That’s precisely why Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch started in Aachen (the so called province back in the 1920s-50’s)
            Then, one would move further, to bigger towns and bigger venues.
            Are you that brainwashed and “starstruck” that you don’t see the bullshit behind the hyper-media and the markets?
            You really really think that the LA Phil and the Vienna Phil feel ‘graced” by the young Apollo with the big curls?

          • anon. says:

            Are you claiming Dudamel didn’t make a difference to Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra? That those young Venezuelans played together like that without input from their conductor? Or are you claiming European provincial orchestras are so horrid that even a Venezuelan youth band is world-class in comparison and therefore too good for Dudamel?

        • anon. says:

          And I should add his concerts with “top orchestras” Berlin and Vienna Phil are consistently mediocre and really he should stop wasting his time with them.

  • V.Lind says:

    I wish Domingo would just shut his yap for good and all.

  • Sam McElroy says:

    If there is a single soul alive who still thinks that Placido Domingo is a baritone, and should be singing on the world stage:

    Domingo:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghsxkO6GABw

    Gihoon Kim (29):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UczJsQlOpk

    If, after listening to both of these, you hit the thumbs down button, you are literally saying “I hereby declare I have no ear for vocal music.” It’s really that simple.

  • Musicman says:

    To clarify the comment on Dudamel’s conducting: he can’t conduct OPERA! But he is fine with an orchestra rep.

  • Dr. Shirley Rombough says:

    What an ignorant dolt you are. Do you make this a stuff up just to gain attention that you couldn’t otherwise get?

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    Each time I read about the latter-day Domingo I’m sensing that there isn’t a lot going on in the private life at this stage of his life. He seems unduly needy about clinging onto the glories of the past. Retirement can be absolutely wonderful and rewarding; you have to find your own reality and move forward with that.

  • Zvi says:

    Was there any discord between D & D?

  • Zvi says:

    Was there any discord between D &D?

  • George says:

    I saw his Germont in Munich last week and it was amazing. In full command of his voice, wonderful timbre, no tremolo at all, beautiful phrasing. 30 min of applause, excellent reviews, too. The rest of the cast was very good as well. 700 people in the house.

  • Patrick Gillot says:

    Palais Garnier is for Ballet since 1989, it is Opera Bastille now.

    • Zebulon says:

      No this did not last I saw La Traviata there about 2 years ago with Pretty Yende. The all ballet Garnier arrangement stopped almost two decades ago.

    • Madeleine Richardson says:

      Not so. While the Garnier is mainly for ballet, two operas will be at the Garnier this forthcoming season.

    • Sheila Ann Elliott says:

      Bring Placido back to the world stage. We miss his beautiful voice and huge personality.

  • Madeleine Richardson says:

    Domingo got a great reception in Paris yesterday evening after his concert at the Salle Gaveau.
    He still gets great receptions wherever he sings and he brings in the audiences.

  • Mme Sousatzka says:

    Give it up…..Flacido ;-000.

  • Gregory Mowery says:

    It would make more sense for Mr. Domingo to finally retire and start to pass along his vast knowledge to the next generation. His huge repertoire, his knowledge of how to manage a career, his contacts, his store of operatic lore, and his musical mastery (whatever you think of Domingo as a conductor, and I’m not impressed, he is a world-class musician), should be passed along and at 80, how many years does he have left? The inconsistency of his singing in wrong vocal range (baritone) the last years before the Covid-19 pandemic showed the wear and tear of a 50+-year career. He”s accomplished everything one could possibly do. He’s a rich man. How sad that he cannot retire, relax and make peace with it.

    • EU person says:

      Does anyone force you to buy tickets to Domingo performances? Definitely no.
      Why do you so worry about his retirement? He definitely doesn’t need your opinion.
      Many people want to see him on stage. And this is much more important than your opinion about his retirement.

    • Madeleine Richardson says:

      I have known top lawyers still working into their nineties.
      It is nobody’s business if Domingo wants to sing and more importantly, if people want to listen to him.
      Nobody is asking you to pay for a ticket.

  • Michel Lemieux says:

    The LA Phil under Dudamel has improved their playing 200% since the EPS years. The musicians love “The Dude” and didn’t care for Esa-Pekka and his Finnish coldness. They always came off as under-rehearsed in those years.

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