Domingo Is Still King of Opera
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Placido Domingo showed he still reigns high as one of the century's greatest singers in his Seoul recital Tuesday.
At 67, the silver-haired Spaniard sang with the fervent ardor of a young Romeo ― waltzing onstage with diva Katherine Jenkins and giving six encores, including a local favorite he sang here 14 years ago.
Jenkins will undoubtedly be invited back after this impressive Korean debut, but the night's dark horse was the striking, jewel-toned South Korean soprano Lee Ji-young. Forward-thinking Domingo makes sure his reign is more than memorable, as he continues to pave paths for young talent.
The Korean Symphony Orchestra, led by maestro Eugene Kohn, opened the evening with ``Rakoczy March'' from ``La Damnation de Faust.'' The heavily packed Olympic Stadium roared with applause as the tenor emerged onstage, but hushed immediately for his authoritative rendition of ``O Sourverain'' from Massenet's ``Le Cid.''
While pitch perfect as always, Domingo needed some time to fully unleash his reverberating wow factor. Midway through the concert, his valiant, copper-toned ``Winterstrume'' demonstrated that this master of Italian and French operas has dominated the German frontier as well.
He delighted the audience with his signature gala-style performances, waltzing with Jenkins to the ``Waltz Duet'' from ``The Merry Widow'' and eating real cherries with Lee in the ``Cherry Duet'' from ``L'Amico Fritz.'' His musical chemistry with the lovely starlets was sizzling, and he can still lay claim to his sexy Zeffirelli film roles.
Former model Jenkins took the stage as if it were a runway, donning sparkling red sequins to pastel yellow chiffon. The Welsh mezzo-soprano had commanding control over ``Carmen'' arias while musical numbers like ``Tonight'' showed why she is crossover music's hottest singer.
Meanwhile, Lee stole the limelight with just one solo. A fiery Queen of the Night, she gracefully leapt over high pianissimos in Mozart's ``Magic Flute'' aria. Her emotionally rich, resonating voice exceeded the high expectations roused by the Washington Post's rave reviews.
The real show, however, began with the 35-minute encore. Domingo's charming duos with Jenkins included their newly recorded ``Love to the Mother,'' whose lyrics are based on poems by the late Pope John Paul II. The enthusiastic crowd cheered on for ``Besame Mucho'' and ``Granada,'' and the heat exploded with the climactic revival of Domingo's 1995 duet with soprano Hong Hei-kyung, ``Thoughts on Mt. Keumkang (Geumgang).''
After offering one more song with Jenkins, the tenor bid fans farewell, carrying off the first cellist's instrument. Domingo told reporters Monday that his retirement ``certainly is closer.'' But the recital showed that ``closer'' is of course a relative term.