Placido Domingo-The Legend looks back-The Met’s 125th anniversary

What goes through your mind when you think back on 40 years at the Met?
Little did I know at my debut that I would be singing here for so long— much less that my anniversary would coincide with the 125th anniversary of the house! It’s amazing that I’m still singing here and am part of this company, the theater in which I have spent more hours than any other theater in the world.

Last September, on the exact date of the 40th anniversary of your debut, the Met held an onstage dinner featuring tributes and performances in your honor. What was that like?
It was so emotional I could hardly speak. Life passes quickly. I can see myself coming to the Met with my children. I can see my boy who was not yet four years old in a pile of snow out in the plaza—and now he’s 43! The speed of life is incredible. You just want to stop the clock sometimes.

This month you’re taking on a unique challenge: revisiting Maurizio, the role of your Met debut in Adriana Lecouvreur.
For me it will be very poignant—it will bring me back to those years. I hope when I’m on stage I will feel as happy as I was in 1968.

Last season you added Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride to your repertoire. And the season before that you created the title role in the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor. What pushes you to keep challenging yourself?
It is very, very important to keep doing new things. I’ve always looked for new parts. There’s so much repertoire—I often say that I think I will need three lives to do everything I want.

You’re known for learning roles extremely quickly. How do you do it?
Believe me, it takes me longer now to learn a role, if for no other reason than my schedule is very busy. I have to take care of two opera houses [LA Opera and Washington National Opera] and my singing, my conducting, the young singers in both opera houses, and Operalia [Domingo’s competition for young singers]. So it’s a lot to do. Of course, at the beginning of my career, I was only singing, so I would learn a role in no time. I think I’m just a quick learner.

What do you think is the secret to your longevity?
I think it’s a combination of things. At the very beginning of my career, everybody said, ‘Oh, Plácido’s not going to last because he works so much.’ That’s the phrase I kept hearing. But you carry the weight your shoulders are capable of carrying. I had such enthusiasm to search for repertoire that would fit me—even some repertoire that seemed dangerous for me. You always have to challenge yourself. It’s also very important that I have been able to prepare 80% of my repertoire alone. I sit at the piano and I learn the operas, just by playing them. I didn’t sing too much. Most singers go to coaches and do a lot of actual singing to learn an opera. I had the ability to play the piano, and by visualizing the piano and the text, I learned the operas almost without trying. But any singer who goes to a coach has to sing every day, probably between performances, when he’s tired. That amount of singing—I didn’t do it in coaching sessions, so I’m still able to do it now on the stage.

When you look back on the last 40 years—what are some of the unforgettable moments?
There are many, many, many—it’s impossible to name them all. But of course my debut, any opening night, any new production. I had some unforgettable performances with my ladies—sopranos like Tebaldi, Price, Nilsson, Caballé, Freni, Scotto, Verrett, Bumbry. The pairing with Sherrill Milnes in many, many performances was very special. Above everything, my collaboration with Maestro Levine, the conductor I have done the most performances with. And of course there’s my romance with the Met public, which has been unbelievable across the years.

At the 125th Anniversary Gala in March you’ll give us a sneak peek of the baritone title role of Simon Boccanegra, which you will sing for the first time next season. What attracts you to this part?
It has always been a role that I adored: the music, the contrast between the prologue and the rest of the opera, the drama. Then there’s the love between the father and the daughter, which reflects Verdi’s tremendous feeling for any kind of scene that involved fathers and children—because he was an unhappy father, who lost his children when they were little. I always said, ‘Near the end of my career, I want to do Boccanegra.’ It’s not that I want to be a baritone, but I want to do Boccanegra. And here it is! But I’m still singing tenor parts. These are not my last performances—not planned in any case. You never know. Every day, when I wake up in the morning, I ask myself the question, Am I still able to sing? And so far the answer has always been yes.

Adriana Lecouvreur opens on February 6. Plácido Domingo will also perform at the 125th Anniversary Gala on March 15.

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