Placido Domingo returned to the Teatro Colón. On Thursday, following 24 years since the last time and fifty since the first, the Spanish singer was reunited with the room that always waits for him and with the public that always applauds him. Together with the Uruguayan soprano María José Siri and the Colón Stable Orchestra conducted by Jordi Bernàcier, Domingo offered an intense, emotional concert, which, with the flow of the music and the growth of the ardor, gradually diluted the tensions typical of the great commitments towards the jubilant outcome. The grand finale was with the duet “Udiste?… Mira, d’acerbe lagrime”, by The Troubadour, by Giuseppe Verdi, which was followed by zarzuela and tango encores. There was a lot of celebration, of course, with a lot of vindication, of course, and also a farewell, inevitably. This Sunday From 5:00 p.m., this concert can be relived through the Teatro Colón website or on the giant screen located in Plaza Alemania (Scalabrini Ortiz 2602). At the same time, the function that the singer will offer to benefit the refugees from Ukraine begins.
Unanimously considered among the best of his time, at the age of 81, Domingo is perfectly aware of what he can and should do on stage, where at this point it is clear that he does not need to prove anything to anyone. An intelligently articulated program, a more than efficient partner and a director who knows how to accommodate the orchestra to the singers’ breathing, were ideal complements for an artist who is clear regarding where he should start from and how far he can go. Although naturally his voice is not that of his best times, he retains much of that color that made it unmistakable. Without the depth of natural baritones, the former tenor cares for perfect delivery and charming diction. And above all, it shows an important stage presence. From what was seen at the Colón, the accusations of sexual harassment and abuse of power – in that he might resemble many of his operatic characters – do not seem to have made a dent in that form of charisma.
life is an opera
The first great ovation of the night came following the orchestra began with the overture of Sicilian Vespers. From the back of the stage, Domingo walked slowly towards the proscenium, as if allowing himself to be surrounded by the thunderous ovation of a packed room. Visibly moved by the welcome, he breathed for a few minutes the sweetened air of applause until with a simple gesture of his right hand he won the silence that served him to change his sweet countenance for a heroic one and start with “Nemico della patria”, the Gerard’s aria in Andrea Chenier by Umberto Giordano. Next, Siri sang “La mamma morta” from the same opera. Then Siri was Violetta and Domingo played Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, in “Madamigella Valery?”, from the second act of The Traviata, from Verdi. Far from the fire of a duo between lovers, the scene has a sensual charge that is closer to the conversation between a landlord and his tenant agreeing on the next increase. Even so, the singers achieved grace points for a good closing of the first part.
The pyrotechnic opening of the corsair by Hector Berlioz, which might have gone better, opened the second segment of the programme, which was devoted to French opera. So much so that it ended with Verdi. After an aria of Hamletby Ambroise Thomas, which Domingo resolved with the instinct of an old wolf, came another good moment from Siri, with “Pleurez pleurez, me yeux”, an aria from El CidJules Massenet. At the height of what the night demanded, the Uruguayan, who in May will sing the role of Abigaille in a production of Nabucco in Berlin, she showed that she has much of what good sopranos need. Although at times her voice flow is excessive and her vibrato is somewhat frantic, Siri has a suitable voice color for this repertoire, she can use the half voice with expressive criteria and is even capable of listening to the one she has next to her.
“Meditation”, an instrumental moment of the opera Thaïswith the efficient Oleg Pishenin, concertmaster of the orchestra, as soloist, served as a prelude to the end with another Verdian duet: “Udiste?… Mira, d’acerbe lagrime” by The Troubadour. It is a moment of the fourth act, in which poor Leonora, willing to do anything to save the life of her beloved Manrico, decides to give her body to the Count of Luna. Happy for the offering, the powerful transfers the blame to his victim, reminding him: “you swore it”. Just for one of those moments in which the opera can resemble life, Domingo arrived without too much vocal rest. He limited himself to putting the stage presence above the voice, leaving all the shine for the soprano, who in her fullness did everything right, even when she rejected the kiss at the end.
Iberian passion
The ovation that spread from Paradise to the stalls with the same intensity demanded the usual encores, which came from the side of the zarzuela. “Amor, vida de mi vida”, by Moreno-Torroba, by Domingo, and a ballad by carnations, by José Serrano, by Siri, ignited, with clapping and everything, the Iberian passion of the public. The famous duet “Did you call me, Rafaeliyo?”, by The Wildcat, by Manuel Penella Moreno, seemed like the end of a celebrated night. “I can’t leave here without singing a tango”, put on the bow Domingo and right there, with the bandoneons of Nicolás Enrich and Horacio Romo and the guitar of Joaquín Molejón, he left with “Volver”. Leaning on the railing of the director’s podium, with little voice and even forgetting some passage of the lyrics, the Spaniard said goodbye with a standing ovation.
Thursday’s was also a mundane night, of course, in which the target of the proposal allowed us to show off dazzling presences. Photographers here and there were on the hunt for images to illustrate a night that was announced as a “package” but ultimately turned out to be quite “cachi”. There were many municipal officials, some VIP plane journalist and various variety artists. And Mirtha Legrand, a legitimate regular at the Colón, through whose box many paraded for the photo.
