0:00:02 > 0:00:05Just lift up so I can see the light there.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08- Now, a perfectly ordinary set of tonsils, Placido.- No!
0:00:08 > 0:00:11There is only one Placido Domingo.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13# Tro-lo-lo!
0:00:13 > 0:00:15With his warm-timbred voice
0:00:15 > 0:00:17and high musical intelligence,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20the Spanish-born Domingo has conquered the world's stages
0:00:20 > 0:00:22for over half a century.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Championing a broad and diverse repertoire,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30few, if any, have performed in more roles or given more performances.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Domingo IS Mr Opera.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40# Vicino al... #
0:00:40 > 0:00:45In this programme, four decades of highlights from Domingo's career,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47in all manner of shows from the BBC archive.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51From the heroics of Verdi
0:00:51 > 0:00:53to the pathos of Henry Mancini.
0:00:55 > 0:01:01# Moon river, wider than a mile
0:01:01 > 0:01:06# I'm crossing you in style some day... #
0:01:06 > 0:01:08We'll discover his abiding love of football.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13There's his passion for Wagner.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:01:22 > 0:01:24His work in cinema.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25HE SINGS
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And his love of Spanish operetta - Zarzuela.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35# No puede ser
0:01:35 > 0:01:39# Esa mujer es buena
0:01:39 > 0:01:42# No puede ser, un mujer... #
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And in his later years, a whole new repertoire,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48as Domingo's voice dropped from tenor to baritone.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52# Plebe! Patrizi!
0:01:52 > 0:01:56# Popolo
0:01:56 > 0:02:00# Dalla feroce storia! #
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Domingo's legacy is unsurpassed.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06With his Latin good looks, his drive and generosity of spirit,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09he is the greatest tenor of his age.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16HE SINGS AND PLAYS A SCALE
0:02:22 > 0:02:26What are you doing when you do that? You were warming up, obviously.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Yes, warming up. I am trying to, you know, round the throat,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35if there's any kind of tight muscles, then they get really loose.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39- How long will you go on doing that kind of thing for?- It depends.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43For Domingo, television has always been a key medium
0:02:43 > 0:02:44in encouraging newcomers to opera.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Here he is in 1971. He was 29,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and in a specially-staged studio performance.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59# Celeste Aida
0:02:59 > 0:03:06# Forma Divina
0:03:06 > 0:03:14# Mistico serto
0:03:14 > 0:03:22# Di luce e fior
0:03:22 > 0:03:30# Del mio pensiero
0:03:30 > 0:03:36# Tu sei regina
0:03:36 > 0:03:45# Tu di mia vita sei lo splendor
0:03:52 > 0:03:59# Il tuo bel cielo vorrei redarti
0:03:59 > 0:04:06# Le dolci brezze del patrio suol
0:04:06 > 0:04:13# Un regal serta sul crin posarti
0:04:13 > 0:04:20# Ergerti un trono
0:04:20 > 0:04:27# Vicino il sol
0:04:27 > 0:04:38# O, celeste Aida
0:04:38 > 0:04:47# Forma divina
0:04:47 > 0:04:54# Mistico certo
0:04:54 > 0:05:01# Di luce e fior
0:05:03 > 0:05:10# Del mio pensiero
0:05:10 > 0:05:17# Tu sei regina
0:05:17 > 0:05:26# Tu di mia vita sei lo splendor
0:05:29 > 0:05:33# Il tuo bel cielo vorrei redarti
0:05:33 > 0:05:36# Le dolce brezze del patrio suol
0:05:36 > 0:05:44# Un regal serta aul crin posarti
0:05:44 > 0:05:52# Ergerti un trono
0:05:52 > 0:05:59# Vicino al sol
0:06:01 > 0:06:06# Un trono vicino al sol
0:06:06 > 0:06:19# Un trono vicino al sol! #
0:06:32 > 0:06:34But you never had a singing teacher anyway?
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Not a proper one, no. I don't. I wasn't that lucky to find one.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- Now, this was in Spain in the 1950s when you started singing.- Yes.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47But no, but rather in Mexico, because I was born in Madrid,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51but a period of my life I spent in Mexico was around
0:06:51 > 0:06:55'57, '58, and I started interest in singing.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57How do you actually produce the voice?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Is it a secret you can't explain?
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Is it something that gets handed on from one tenor to the other?
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- How does it work? - It is very difficult to explain.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08I don't think I could actually explain that.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13It is just a feeling of, um, that you are producing a sound
0:07:13 > 0:07:16and you are supporting here, the diaphragm, you know?
0:07:16 > 0:07:21I have the feeling, I tell you, I have the feeling like hitting,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24it is just like hitting a ball.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26APPLAUSE
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Despite having no formal training, Domingo holds the record
0:07:32 > 0:07:37for the longest standing ovation on the operatic stage.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Vienna, 1991.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43101 curtain calls and 80 minutes of applause.
0:07:45 > 0:07:52# Granada, tierra sonada por mi
0:07:52 > 0:07:58# Mi cantar, se vuelve gitano cuando es para ti
0:07:58 > 0:08:08# Mi cantar, hecho de fantasia
0:08:08 > 0:08:15# Mi cantar, flor de melancolia
0:08:15 > 0:08:28# Que yo te vengo a dar
0:08:46 > 0:08:53# Granada, tierra ensangrentada en tarde de toros
0:08:55 > 0:09:03# Mujer que conserva el embrujo de los ojos moros
0:09:03 > 0:09:11# De sueno rebelde gitana cubierta de flores
0:09:12 > 0:09:16# Y beso tu boca de grana
0:09:16 > 0:09:24# Jugosa manzana que me habla de amores
0:09:26 > 0:09:33# Granada, manola cantada en coplas preciosas
0:09:35 > 0:09:42# No tengo otra cosa que darte que un ramo de rosas
0:09:43 > 0:09:47# De rosas de suave fragancia
0:09:47 > 0:09:54# Que le dieran marco a la Virgen morena
0:09:54 > 0:10:00# Granada tu tierra esta llena
0:10:00 > 0:10:06# De lindas mujeres de sangre y de sol
0:10:34 > 0:10:41# Granada
0:10:41 > 0:10:46# Tu tierra est llena
0:10:46 > 0:10:57# De lindas mujeres de sangre y de sol! #
0:10:57 > 0:10:59APPLAUSE
0:11:03 > 0:11:05At the age of 29,
0:11:05 > 0:11:10the Spanish-born singer Placido Domingo has already achieved
0:11:10 > 0:11:16the remarkable feat of soaring to the top of the tree on which
0:11:16 > 0:11:21romantic tenors grow. How do you set about studying a new role?
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Yes, I sit at the piano, and I play the score.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29And after I play three or four times the score, I know the opera.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35# Caro elisir, sei mio
0:11:35 > 0:11:38# Si, tutto mio
0:11:38 > 0:11:43# Com'esser de possente, la tua virtu
0:11:43 > 0:11:46# Se non bevuto ancora
0:11:46 > 0:11:48# Di tanto gioia
0:11:48 > 0:11:52# Gia mi colmi il petto!
0:11:52 > 0:11:56# Ma perche mai l'effetto
0:11:56 > 0:11:58# Non ne poss'io vedere
0:11:58 > 0:12:04# Prima che un giorno inter non sia trascorso?
0:12:04 > 0:12:07# Bevasi
0:12:07 > 0:12:11# O qual di vena in vena
0:12:11 > 0:12:15# Dolce calor mi scorre!
0:12:15 > 0:12:17# Ah, forse anch'essa
0:12:17 > 0:12:20# Forse la fiammo istessa
0:12:20 > 0:12:24# Incomincia a sentir
0:12:24 > 0:12:26# Certo la sente
0:12:26 > 0:12:29# Me l'annunzia la gioia
0:12:29 > 0:12:33# E l'appetito
0:12:33 > 0:12:35# Che in me si risveglio
0:12:35 > 0:12:37# Tutto ad un tratto
0:12:37 > 0:12:42# Lallarallara, la, la, la, la! #
0:12:42 > 0:12:43For somebody so young,
0:12:43 > 0:12:49there are a lot of legends which have built up around you.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55For instance, did you really pick up your leading lady in your arms
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and hold her, right throughout a duet?
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Yeah, that's right.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05You know, in the fourth act of Traviata when Alfredo arrives,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08he comes back to Violetta, and they sing,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11they are very happy to see each other. They kiss, they embrace.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15And of course, because she's sick, she's very weak,
0:13:15 > 0:13:21she practically collapse, and then he always, you know,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26bring her either walking to the bed or to a sofa, you know,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29just to sing the beautiful duet, Parigi O Cara, you know?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32So, in that moment, I don't know where
0:13:32 > 0:13:34the stage director was going to place the duet,
0:13:34 > 0:13:40so I just picked her in my arms and I was there, and I said,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44"Where?" And by that time, the music starts, you know?
0:13:44 > 0:13:49So I started, # Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo... #
0:13:49 > 0:13:53So I was, you know, rocking her in my arms.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56And he said, "That's terrific! Let's do it!"
0:13:56 > 0:13:58I said, "What do you mean, let's do it?"
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I said, "Where shall I put her?" And he said, "No, in your arms!"
0:14:01 > 0:14:03"What?!" So then we tried, just for a joke.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07So I tried it in the rehearsal and I realised I can do it, so we did it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09And we did the production like that.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21# Parigi, o cara
0:14:21 > 0:14:26# Noi lasceremo
0:14:26 > 0:14:35# La vita uniti trascorreremo
0:14:35 > 0:14:39# De' corsi affanni
0:14:39 > 0:14:44# Compenso avrai
0:14:44 > 0:14:53# La tua salute rifiorira
0:14:53 > 0:15:01# Sospiro e luce tu mi sarai
0:15:02 > 0:15:08# Tutto il futuro
0:15:08 > 0:15:13# Ne arridera
0:15:13 > 0:15:22# Parigi o caro, noi lasceremo
0:15:22 > 0:15:32# La vita uniti trascorreremo
0:15:32 > 0:15:42# De' corsi affanni compenso avrai
0:15:42 > 0:15:52# La mia salute rifiorira
0:15:52 > 0:16:03# Sospiro e luce tu mi sarai
0:16:03 > 0:16:11# Tutto il futuro
0:16:11 > 0:16:14# Ne arridera
0:16:14 > 0:16:20# Parigi, o cara noi lasceremo
0:16:20 > 0:16:26THEY HARMONISE
0:16:26 > 0:16:34# La vita uniti trascorreremo... #
0:16:34 > 0:16:41THEY HARMONISE INTRICATELY
0:16:41 > 0:16:51# De' corsi affanni compenso avrai
0:16:51 > 0:16:57# La tua salute rifiorira
0:16:57 > 0:17:03# Rifiorira
0:17:03 > 0:17:10# Parigi o cara, noi lasceremo... #
0:17:10 > 0:17:17THEY HARMONISE INTRICATELY
0:17:17 > 0:17:24# La vita uniti trascorreremo... #
0:17:24 > 0:17:30THEY HARMONISE INTRICATELY
0:17:30 > 0:17:37# De corsi affani compenso avrai
0:17:37 > 0:17:47# La tua salute rifiorira
0:17:47 > 0:17:55BOTH: # Rifiorira
0:17:58 > 0:18:03# Rifiorira
0:18:04 > 0:18:11# De' corsi affanni
0:18:12 > 0:18:17# De' corsi affanni compenso avrai
0:18:19 > 0:18:25# De' corsi affanni compenso avrai
0:18:27 > 0:18:37# La tua salute
0:18:38 > 0:18:46BOTH: # Rifiorira
0:18:48 > 0:18:56# Rifiorira. #
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- You're a family man.- Yeah.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15Now, this is a great problem, of course, for any musician
0:19:15 > 0:19:20moving about all over the world, with children, particularly, as you have.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22What do you do? Do the children travel with you?
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Do they stay in one place, or what?
0:19:24 > 0:19:27We try to keep together as much as we can.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37I think that children are wonderful and the family is a beautiful thing,
0:19:37 > 0:19:42because it makes you have something else to worry and to concern you.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Not only the singing.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49I don't think I'd be able to live just with the worry of singing, you know?
0:19:49 > 0:19:52So I mean, I don't care, even if I have to sing,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54if I am resting a little bit,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58and one of the children cries or something like that, it makes me
0:19:58 > 0:20:02think that there are some other things in life, not only the career.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And probably things are easier that way.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13APPLAUSE
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Domingo appeared on the Parkinson show three times.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21Here he is singing Be My Love - always associated with Mario Lanza,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23who Domingo credits for his own love of opera.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28# Be my love
0:20:28 > 0:20:35# For no-one else can end this yearning
0:20:35 > 0:20:44# This need that you and you alone create
0:20:44 > 0:20:52# Just fill my arms the way you've filled my dreams,
0:20:52 > 0:20:57# The dreams that you inspire
0:20:57 > 0:21:04# With every sweet desire
0:21:04 > 0:21:08# Be my love
0:21:08 > 0:21:16# And with your kisses set me burning
0:21:16 > 0:21:24# One kiss is all I need to seal my fate
0:21:24 > 0:21:28# And, hand-in-hand
0:21:28 > 0:21:33# We'll find love's promised land
0:21:33 > 0:21:39# There'll be no-one but you for me
0:21:39 > 0:21:44# Eternally
0:21:44 > 0:21:55# If you will be my love
0:22:09 > 0:22:17And hand-in-hand, we'll find a promised land
0:22:17 > 0:22:24# There'll be no-one but you for me
0:22:24 > 0:22:31# Eternally
0:22:31 > 0:22:37# If you will be
0:22:37 > 0:22:43# My love. #
0:22:43 > 0:22:45APPLAUSE
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Placido, I didn't realise that you were once a pianist in a nightclub.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- Oh, yes, that was one of the things I did, musically.- Yes.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03What kind of a pianist were you?
0:23:03 > 0:23:04- HE LAUGHS - A lousy one!
0:23:04 > 0:23:06LAUGHTER
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Besides that, no, I was playing the piano for another singer,
0:23:11 > 0:23:17a baritone, and we were in a peculiar kind of a nightclub.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23And after our number it was coming a girl,
0:23:23 > 0:23:29with very light in clothes, you know? Let's put it that way.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32And whenever he was going to start to sing, they said,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35"We don't want to hear to you, we want the girl."
0:23:35 > 0:23:39And he said, "Let me just sing three songs,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42"otherwise they are going to throw me out, and I need to sing."
0:23:42 > 0:23:45And most of the time when I was singing,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49when I was playing the piano, very inspired, with my eyes closed.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52"And you, playing the piano, you seem so inspired, please hurry up,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56"we want to see the girl, you know?" So that was my piano playing!
0:23:56 > 0:24:00You told me about opera singers. They are notoriously superstitious people.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03One hears lots and lots of tales about various superstitions
0:24:03 > 0:24:05that opera singers have.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Do you have any sort of ritual that you go through before a performance?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Well, I have some kind of, I suppose,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16more than superstitions, it's a religious kind of feeling.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Before I do a performance, I have a pray to Santa Cecilia,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23which is the patron of the music.
0:24:23 > 0:24:34And I pray to her to be able to make justice to the composers,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37to the genius who has wrote these works.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43You know, not for vanity and so on. And I feel very relieved, praying.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44And, after the performance,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I have to be the last one leaving my dressing room.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And, in the very last performance in that city,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52I have to go on the stage
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and sing the phrases I will be singing in my next trip to
0:24:55 > 0:25:01that city, like, I don't know, like, thanking God to be there
0:25:01 > 0:25:04and hoping to come back to the same place again.
0:25:07 > 0:25:14# M'appari tutt' amor
0:25:14 > 0:25:22# Il mio sguardo l'incontro
0:25:22 > 0:25:29# Bella si che il mio cor
0:25:29 > 0:25:35# Ansioso a lei volo
0:25:35 > 0:25:39# Mi feri, m'invaghi
0:25:39 > 0:25:42# Quell'angelica belta
0:25:42 > 0:25:48# Sculta in cor dall'amor cancellarsi non potra
0:25:48 > 0:25:56# Il pensier di poter palpitar con lei d'amor
0:25:56 > 0:26:03# Puo sopir il martir che m'affana
0:26:03 > 0:26:08# E strazia il cor
0:26:08 > 0:26:16# E strazia il cor
0:26:16 > 0:26:20# M'appari
0:26:20 > 0:26:23# Tutt'amor
0:26:23 > 0:26:31# Il mio sguardo l'incontro
0:26:31 > 0:26:39# Bella si che il mio cor
0:26:39 > 0:26:46# Ansioso a lei volo
0:26:46 > 0:26:52# Marta, Marta, tu sparisti
0:26:52 > 0:26:59# E il mio cor col tuo n'ando!
0:26:59 > 0:27:07# Tu la pace mi rapisti
0:27:07 > 0:27:14# Di dolor io moriro!
0:27:14 > 0:27:19# Di dolor io moriro
0:27:19 > 0:27:30# Si, moriro! #
0:27:31 > 0:27:36Now, Placido, it's Christmas and the BBC, at almost any expense,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40will grant you a Christmas wish, I'm authorised to say!
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- What would your wish be? - Well, I'll tell you.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Working so hard, I hardly have time to do some sports, but I love them
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and I used to do a lot. Of course, swimming like everybody, and tennis.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54But my dream was really to be a football player.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58And I would be so thrilled if I could, you know,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02meet Kevin Keegan and even play with him.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Ah, there you are, Mr Domingo. I've been looking everywhere for you.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10- I've been to Shepherd's Bush, the theatre.- Such a pleasure to see you.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14I watched you once in Barcelona. We want you so badly to play there.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16And I thought you were not going to come today?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Yeah, well, the chance to sing on your show,
0:28:19 > 0:28:20I just couldn't miss that.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Did you want to sing?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24- Yes, I really do, yeah.- Yes, but first we do something.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27First of all, you call me Placido and I call you Kevin, OK?
0:28:27 > 0:28:29OK, Mr Placido.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31No "Mr Placido", no. Placido, OK?
0:28:31 > 0:28:36And then, I guess I have been a frustrated football player,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38so, shall we play football?
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- What, here?- Just right here, why not?
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Nothing easier. Kindly step this way, gentlemen.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50In my times, they don't use gloves.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Oh, I say! What a save there.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03You have to be extraordinarily fit to do what you do, don't you?
0:29:03 > 0:29:10Well, yes, you have to keep in good health and good training.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12It is very exhausting, the life.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Today I have been in stage in Covent Garden
0:29:14 > 0:29:16since ten o'clock this morning
0:29:16 > 0:29:19and rehearsing the whole day.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24Every morning when you have the orchestra, you have to be prepared.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26The opera, you sing every four days,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29maybe you sing it two times and one rehearsal, maybe.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30Yes.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33I think I'm giving up football, Mr Domingo. Placido.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37It's nothing. You won't give up football ever, I mean,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40but if you like to try maybe another sport.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42You were amazing there.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47But you know, I think I'd better keep up singing, you know?
0:29:47 > 0:29:51But you know, BBC now has asked me also,
0:29:51 > 0:29:55and they will be very, very happy, do you have any wish for Christmas?
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Well, what I'd really wish to do is to see whether I can play
0:29:58 > 0:30:01the first part of the accompaniment to your next song, Placido.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Mattinata by Leoncavallo, who wrote, of course, Pagliacci, which is
0:30:05 > 0:30:07another great Domingo opera, yes?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10OK, good!
0:30:10 > 0:30:12HE PLAYS FLUENTLY
0:30:23 > 0:30:27# L'aurora di bianco vestita
0:30:27 > 0:30:31# Gia' l'uscio dischiude al gran sol
0:30:31 > 0:30:34# Di gia' con le rosee sue dita
0:30:34 > 0:30:41# Carezza de' fiori lo stuol!
0:30:41 > 0:30:45# Commosso da un fremito arcano
0:30:45 > 0:30:49# Intorno il creato gia' par
0:30:49 > 0:30:54# E tu non ti desti, ed invano
0:30:54 > 0:31:02# Mi sto qui dolente a cantar
0:31:03 > 0:31:08# Metti anche tu la veste bianca
0:31:08 > 0:31:16# E schiudi l'uscio al tuo cantor!
0:31:16 > 0:31:22# Ove non sei la luce manca
0:31:22 > 0:31:31# Ove tu sei nasce l'amor
0:31:31 > 0:31:33# Mette anche tu
0:31:33 > 0:31:36# La veste bianca
0:31:36 > 0:31:43# E schiudi l'uscio al tuo cantor
0:31:43 > 0:31:49# Ove none sei la luce manca
0:31:49 > 0:32:01# Ove tu sei nasce l'amor! #
0:32:03 > 0:32:11For me, a melody like Mr Mancini or Andrew Lloyd Webber, I think that it
0:32:11 > 0:32:18has the quality, the melody, the quality of any lieder, it could be any lieder by Schubert.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21The only thing that is different, perhaps, is the treatment,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24the harmony, and the rhythm,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28as you were explaining before, it used to be every four beats,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31then it was every two beats, then every beat, you know?
0:32:31 > 0:32:34So, that's the only thing they change,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37but the pure melodic line, you know, you can find it
0:32:37 > 0:32:41as much in Schubert, just like many of our great composers today.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43APPLAUSE
0:32:44 > 0:32:47A highlight of Domingo's Parkinson appearances
0:32:47 > 0:32:50was performing with the film composer, Henry Mancini,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54famous for a host of soundtracks, including Breakfast at Tiffany's.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03# Moon river, wider than a mile
0:33:03 > 0:33:10# I'm crossing you in style some day
0:33:10 > 0:33:17# Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
0:33:17 > 0:33:24# Wherever you're going, I'm going your way
0:33:24 > 0:33:31# Two drifters, off to see the world
0:33:31 > 0:33:38# There's such a lot of world to see
0:33:38 > 0:33:48# We're after the same rainbow's end
0:33:48 > 0:33:52# Waiting round the bend
0:33:52 > 0:33:54# My huckleberry friend
0:33:54 > 0:34:02# Moon river and me
0:34:32 > 0:34:38# Two drifters, off to see the world
0:34:38 > 0:34:46# There's such a lot of world to see
0:34:46 > 0:34:56# We're after the same rainbow's end
0:34:56 > 0:34:59# Waiting round the bend
0:34:59 > 0:35:05# My huckleberry friend
0:35:05 > 0:35:18# Moon river and me. #
0:35:24 > 0:35:25APPLAUSE
0:35:38 > 0:35:41The nurse, the nurse here, please.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45For the last 12 months, the Italian director, Franco Zeffirelli,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48has been making a feature film of Verdi's Opera, Otello.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51In a style that has become familiar to audiences of La Traviata
0:35:51 > 0:35:53and Pagliacci, he's transformed one of the great
0:35:53 > 0:35:59works of lyric theatre into a spectacular cinema entertainment.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05# Or la folgor lo svela
0:36:05 > 0:36:07- # Uno squillo!- Uno squillo!
0:36:07 > 0:36:10# Ha tuonato il cannon!
0:36:10 > 0:36:13# La nave del Duce
0:36:13 > 0:36:16# Or s'affonda... #
0:36:18 > 0:36:21The soundtrack was pre-recorded at the Milan Conservatory with
0:36:21 > 0:36:24the Spanish tenor, Placido Domingo, singing Otello
0:36:24 > 0:36:27and the chorus and orchestra of La Scala, Milan,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32under the baton of the American conductor, Lorin Maazel.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34# Evviva!
0:36:37 > 0:36:42# Esultate!
0:36:42 > 0:36:50# L'orgoglio musulmano sepolto in mar
0:36:50 > 0:36:56# Nostra e del ciel e gloria
0:36:56 > 0:37:10# Dopo l'armi lo vinse l'uragano
0:37:10 > 0:37:15# Evviva Otello!
0:37:15 > 0:37:19# Evviva! Evviva! Evviva!
0:37:19 > 0:37:22# Vittoria! Vittoria! Vittoria! #
0:37:29 > 0:37:31The filming is divided between locations
0:37:31 > 0:37:35scattered round the Mediterranean and the studio in Rome.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41HE SINGS
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Sometimes, you try to underplay for the camera
0:37:53 > 0:37:58because of the stage being so absolutely violent
0:37:58 > 0:38:03and so absolutely bigger than life because 3,000 people have to see it.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06So your gestures are bigger and so on.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12But he's letting me... letting me use the dramatist.
0:38:12 > 0:38:17He will rather let me go too far than too little, you know?
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Sometimes he controls me in the moment, but he really let me
0:38:21 > 0:38:22express myself.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25# No puede ser
0:38:25 > 0:38:30# Esa mujer es buena
0:38:30 > 0:38:35# No puede ser una mujer malvada
0:38:35 > 0:38:39# En su mirar como una luz singular
0:38:39 > 0:38:46# He visto que esa mujer es una desventurada
0:38:46 > 0:38:53# No puede ser una vulgar sirena
0:38:53 > 0:39:00# Que enveneno las horas de mi vida
0:39:00 > 0:39:03# No puede ser
0:39:03 > 0:39:07# Porque la vi rezar
0:39:08 > 0:39:11# Porque la vi querer
0:39:11 > 0:39:19# Porque la vi llorar
0:39:25 > 0:39:32# Los ojos que lloran no saben mentir
0:39:32 > 0:39:41# Las malas mujeres no miran asi
0:39:41 > 0:39:49# Temblando en sus ojos dos lagrimas vi
0:39:50 > 0:39:58# Y a mi me ilusiona que tiemblen por mi
0:40:05 > 0:40:12# Que tiemblen por mi
0:40:19 > 0:40:24# Viva luz de mi ilusion
0:40:26 > 0:40:30# Se piadosa con mi amor
0:40:31 > 0:40:37# Porque no se fingir
0:40:37 > 0:40:40# Porque no se callar
0:40:40 > 0:40:48# Porque no se vivir. #
0:40:58 > 0:41:00APPLAUSE
0:41:04 > 0:41:09BELL CHIMES
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Welcome to Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16It's St Nicholas Eve,
0:41:16 > 0:41:18it's the beginning of Christmas.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21What a special Christmas it is.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24This time last year, only weeks after the revolution, Czechoslovakia
0:41:24 > 0:41:29was savouring its first heady but still uncertain draughts of freedom.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Placido Domingo has just flown in from Vienna
0:41:34 > 0:41:36especially for tonight's concert.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41My first rehearsal with so much public.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48It's been quite sensational for me to be able to sing something for
0:41:48 > 0:41:52the very first time in my life, to rehearse in front of 2,000 people.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55I didn't know how to take it at the beginning.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57When I arrived, I said, "How am I going to say,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00"everybody out because I need to rehearse?"
0:42:00 > 0:42:01They said, "No way, you know."
0:42:15 > 0:42:21# Zdravas Maria
0:42:21 > 0:42:27# Milosti plna
0:42:27 > 0:42:33# Zdravas Maria
0:42:33 > 0:42:38# Milosti plna
0:42:41 > 0:42:48# Pan s tebou
0:42:51 > 0:42:56# Pan s tebou
0:42:57 > 0:43:02# Pozehnana si
0:43:02 > 0:43:08# Medzi zenami
0:43:08 > 0:43:14# A pozehnanyy
0:43:14 > 0:43:21# Je plod zivota Tvojho Jezis
0:43:21 > 0:43:27# Plod zivota Tvojho Jezis
0:43:28 > 0:43:33CHORUS SINGS
0:44:22 > 0:44:30# Svata Maria
0:44:37 > 0:44:45# Svata Maria
0:44:51 > 0:44:59# Matka Bozia
0:45:10 > 0:45:18# Matka Bozia
0:45:20 > 0:45:28# Pros za nas hriesnych
0:45:39 > 0:45:44# I v hodinu smrti nasej
0:45:44 > 0:45:47# Amen
0:45:47 > 0:45:51# Amen
0:45:58 > 0:46:04# Amen. #
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Domingo's sung in festivals and at theatres
0:46:48 > 0:46:50around the world,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53but it's hard to believe that it wasn't until 2005
0:46:53 > 0:46:56that he finally got to make his debut at the BBC Proms,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58singing his beloved Wagner.
0:46:58 > 0:47:05That's amazing. You know, after 33 years singing at Royal Opera
0:47:05 > 0:47:07there were sometimes invitations across the years,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11but they were never made with enough time.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13And this was just by chance.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:49:38 > 0:49:42For opera lovers, Placido Domingo's first appearance in Britain
0:49:42 > 0:49:46as a baritone in 2010 was an eagerly awaited event.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49He took the title role in one of Verdi's great masterpieces.
0:49:49 > 0:49:50Simon Boccanegra.
0:49:53 > 0:49:58It is one of the more demanding roles as a singer, an actor,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02combination of singer and actor, in the baritone repertoire.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06And I thought before I retire I want to do it.
0:50:06 > 0:50:12# Ch'or sorride all'alma mia... #
0:50:12 > 0:50:14I am very, very happy.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17I really loved the role very, very deeply
0:50:17 > 0:50:20even more than I thought
0:50:20 > 0:50:24when I was thinking and dreaming about doing it.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- Could I just pause there?- Yeah.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30It's not part of the argument. It's not angry.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33# O, crudele... #
0:50:33 > 0:50:35- Just stretch it out. - OK. Yeah, I know.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41There are operas that I used to sing before that I wouldn't do today
0:50:41 > 0:50:44because of the tessitura or the voice
0:50:44 > 0:50:48because of changing and repertoire, styles.
0:50:48 > 0:50:54And I have always been very much curious about finding new things,
0:50:54 > 0:50:59and so that's the reason I'm still doing a career which I love.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02It is the variety of all those different groups.
0:51:02 > 0:51:03# Ch'ei t'oda...
0:51:03 > 0:51:06- # Prostrarmi al suo piede? - Vien!
0:51:06 > 0:51:11# Ecco il petto... Colpisci, sleale! #
0:51:11 > 0:51:13I don't pretend to be a baritone,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17but I do the Boccanegra with my voice
0:51:17 > 0:51:21and I think it has the sufficient dark colour
0:51:21 > 0:51:25which I have been used to do, singing Otello
0:51:25 > 0:51:28and singing some of the Wagnerian repertoire.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30It's a little bit like a painter.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35You have the palette there and you have all the different colours
0:51:35 > 0:51:38and you put them together.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42# Plebe! Patrizi!
0:51:42 > 0:51:44# Popolo
0:51:44 > 0:51:49# Dalla feroce storia!
0:51:50 > 0:51:57# Erede sol dell'odio
0:51:57 > 0:52:01# Dei Spinola e dei Doria
0:52:01 > 0:52:09# Mentre v'invita estatico
0:52:09 > 0:52:16# Il regno ampio dei mari
0:52:16 > 0:52:22# Voi nei fraterni lari
0:52:22 > 0:52:34# Vi lacerate il cuor
0:52:38 > 0:52:47# Piango su voi, sul placido
0:52:47 > 0:52:53# Raggio del vostro clivo
0:52:53 > 0:53:02# La dove invan germoglia
0:53:02 > 0:53:09# Il ramo dell'ulivo
0:53:09 > 0:53:16# Piango sulla mendace
0:53:16 > 0:53:24# Festa dei vostri fior
0:53:26 > 0:53:34# E vo gridando: pace!
0:53:36 > 0:53:43# E vo gridando: amor!
0:53:43 > 0:53:48# E vo gridando: amor! #
0:53:52 > 0:53:55What for you are the big challenges?
0:53:55 > 0:54:02Pagliacci, for instance, is one role that I particularly care for it.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06I really love it very deeply.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09- And...- Why?
0:54:09 > 0:54:14Well, I believe the purpose of this man and...
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Just the fact, just for the phrase
0:54:20 > 0:54:24that the baritone said in the opera is...
0:54:25 > 0:54:30"Siam uomini di carne e d'ossa."
0:54:30 > 0:54:35Then we are men made of flesh and bones.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39So, the fact...it can put you in the position
0:54:39 > 0:54:42then the show must go on, you know?
0:54:42 > 0:54:46So, then every other performer will feel...
0:54:46 > 0:54:47And it doesn't matter
0:54:47 > 0:54:51what is your feelings that day, which way you feel,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54what is going on with your mind,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57when you have to perform, you have to do it.
0:54:57 > 0:55:06# Recitar! Mentre preso dal delirio!
0:55:06 > 0:55:11# Non so piu quel che dico
0:55:11 > 0:55:14# E quel che faccio!
0:55:14 > 0:55:20# Eppur e d'uopo sforzati!
0:55:20 > 0:55:27# Bah! Sei tu forse un uom? #
0:55:27 > 0:55:28HE SOBS
0:55:33 > 0:55:40# Tu sei Pagliaccio!
0:55:48 > 0:55:54# Vesti la giubba
0:55:54 > 0:56:00# Ela faccia infarina
0:56:00 > 0:56:11# La gente paga e rider vuole qua
0:56:11 > 0:56:22# E se Arlecchin t'invola Colombina
0:56:22 > 0:56:33# Ridi, Pagliaccio E ognun applaudira!
0:56:35 > 0:56:38# Tramuta in lazzi
0:56:38 > 0:56:42# Lo spasmo ed il pianto
0:56:42 > 0:56:47# In una smorfia il singhiozzo
0:56:47 > 0:56:54# E'l dolor! Ah!
0:56:54 > 0:57:02# Ridi, Pagliaccio
0:57:02 > 0:57:14# Sul tuo amore infranto
0:57:14 > 0:57:35# Ridi del duol che t'avvelena il cor. #
0:58:22 > 0:58:23Placido Domingo.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26Actor, singer, footballer,
0:58:26 > 0:58:29just a few moments covering a truly remarkable career
0:58:29 > 0:58:33as he strides like a colossus through the world's opera houses
0:58:33 > 0:58:37and concert halls, seducing generation after generation
0:58:37 > 0:58:39of music lovers.