Plácido Domingo was born in Madrid, Spain, and moved to Mexico at age 8 with his family, who ran a zarzuela company. In Mexico City he studied music at the National Conservatory. He provided backup vocals for Los Black Jeans in 1958, a rock-and-roll band lead by César Costa. He learned piano and conducting, but made his stage debut in 1959 (May 12) at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara as Pascual in Marina. It was followed by Borsa in Rigoletto, Padre Confessor (Le dialogue des Carmelites) and others. In 1962 he joined the Israeli National Opera in Tel Aviv, where he spent two and a half years, singing 280 performances.
On September 19, 1985, the biggest earthquake in Mexico's history devastated the whole Mexican capital. Domingo's aunt, uncle, his nephew and his nephew’s young son were killed in the collapse of the Nuevo León apartment block in the Tlatelolco housing complex. Domingo himself labored to rescue survivors. During the next year, he did benefit concerts for the victims and released an album of one of the events.
In 1966, he sang the title role in the US premiere of Ginastera's Don Rodrigo at the New York City Opera, with much acclaim. He first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on September 28, 1968, in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, singing with Renata Tebaldi. (Since then, he has opened the season there 21 times, surpassing the previous record of Enrico Caruso by four.) He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1967, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1968, at both La Scala and San Francisco Opera in 1969, and at Covent Garden in 1971, and has now sung at practically every other important opera house and festival worldwide.
Perhaps the most versatile of all living tenors, Domingo has sung 92 roles onstage to date (and as many as 123 roles when also counting recorded roles), ranging from Mozart to Ginastera. His main repertoire however is Italian (Otello, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo), French (Faust, Werther, Don José in Carmen, Samson in Samson et Dalila), and German (Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Siegmund in Die Walküre). He continues to add more operas to his repertoire, such as recently Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House in London.
With José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, he participated in The Three Tenors concert at the opening of the 1990 World Cup in Rome. The event was originally conceived to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation and was later repeated a number of times, including at the three subsequent World Cup finals (1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama). Alone, Domingo again made an appearance at the final of the 2006 World Cup in Berlin.
In what has been called his 'final career move', Placido Domingo announced on January 25, 2007 that in 2009 he would switch ranges to baritone by taking on one of Verdi's most demanding baritone roles, as the Doge of Genoa, Simon Boccanegra, in the opera of the same name.
Granada
Plácido Domingo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Granada mía!
Adiós Granada
Granada mía
Yo no volveré a verte
Más en la vía
Vivir lejos de tu vega
Y del sitio en que reposa
El cuerpo de mi morena
¡Dobla campana
Campana dobla!
Dobla campana
Campana dobla
Que tu triste sonío
Me traen las olas
Que horas tan negras
En la cajita la veo
Y la nieve de sus labios
Aún en los míos la siento
¡Dobla, dobla campana!
The song Granada by Plácido Domingo is a tribute to the city of Granada which is known for its rich cultural heritage and vibrant history. In the initial few lines, the singer expresses his deep admiration for the city and how his singing style takes a gypsy-like tone when he performs for the land. He also mentions that his song is not only a product of his imagination but is a reflection of his melancholic feelings towards the city. The next line talks about how the land is soaked in blood during bullfights and how the women of the city have inherited the beauty of the Moors with their mysterious and rebellious nature. The singer touches upon his feelings of love for the city by using images of flowers and juicy red apples that are reminiscent of passion and desire.
The second verse reiterates the admiration that the singer holds for the women of Granada. The repetition of the line "Granada Manola cantada en coplas preciosas, no tengo otra cosa que darte que un ramo de rosas" establishes the singer's infatuation with a woman from Granada and how his only offering to her is a bouquet of roses. The song ends with the assertion that the land is full of beautiful women who are as warm as the sun that shines above them.
Overall, the song Granada is a poetic tribute to the magical and romantic city of Andalusia. The lyrics use vivid imagery to evoke the beauty of the land and the passion that it provokes in the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Granada, tierra soñada por mi
Granada, a land that I've only dreamed of
Mi cantar se vuelve gitano
My singing takes on a gypsy style
Cuando es para ti
When it's for you
Mi cantar hecho de fantasía
My singing made of fantasy
Mi cantar, flor de melancolía
My singing, a flower of melancholy
Que yo te vengo a dar
That I've come to give you
Granada
Granada
Tierra ensangrentada
A land stained with blood
En tardes de toros
In bullfighting afternoons
Mujer que conserva el embrujo
A woman who keeps the enchantment
De los ojos moros
Of the Moorish eyes
De sueño rebelde y gitana
Of a rebellious and gypsy dream
Cubierta de flores
Covered in flowers
Y beso tu boca de grana
And I kiss your pomegranate-colored lips
Jugosa manzana
Juicy apple
Que me habla de amores
That speaks to me of love
Granada Manola
Manola of Granada
Cantada en coplas preciosas
Sung in precious couplets
No tengo otra cosa que darte
I have nothing else to give you
Que un ramo de rosas
Except for a bouquet of roses
De rosas de suave fragancia
Of roses with a gentle fragrance
Que le dieran marco
That would frame
A la Virgen Morena
To the Dark-skinned Virgin
Granada
Granada
Tu tierra está llena de lindas mujeres
Your land is full of beautiful women
De sangre y de sol
Of blood and of sunshine
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Pablo Cases Ruiz, Tomas Barrera Saavedra, Rafael Calleja Gomez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Connerrenk
Granada, tierra soñada por mi
Mi cantar se vuelve gitano
Cuando es para ti
Mi cantar hecho de fantasia
Mi cantar, flor de melancolia
Que you te vengo a dar
Granada,
Tierra ensangrentada
En tardes de toros
Mujer que conserva el embrujo
De los ojos moros
De sueño rebelde y gitana
Cubierta de flores
Y beso tu boca de grana
Jugosa manzana
Que me habla de amores
Granada Manola
Cantada en coplas preciosas
No tengo otra cosa que darte
Que un ramo de rosas
De rosas de suave fragancia
Que le dieran marco
A la Virgen Morena
Granada
Tu tierra está llena de lindas mujeres
De sangre y de sol.
@Connerrenk
Granada, tierra soñada por mi
Mi cantar se vuelve gitano
Cuando es para ti
Mi cantar hecho de fantasia
Mi cantar, flor de melancolia
Que you te vengo a dar
Granada,
Tierra ensangrentada
En tardes de toros
Mujer que conserva el embrujo
De los ojos moros
De sueño rebelde y gitana
Cubierta de flores
Y beso tu boca de grana
Jugosa manzana
Que me habla de amores
Granada Manola
Cantada en coplas preciosas
No tengo otra cosa que darte
Que un ramo de rosas
De rosas de suave fragancia
Que le dieran marco
A la Virgen Morena
@hendriksmedia
A concert like no other. Seriously, what a gift to civilization. I wish we could see more like this today.
@bloodmoon3155
He just performed with Dimash. A month ago.
@williamgable7554
Such a privilege and pleasure to watch and listen to Domingo, Carreras & Pavarotti. Put them together with this orchestra conducted by Maestro Mehta and the result is unmatched perfection.
@danielgutierrez4948
Agustin Lara. Composer from Veracruz. Mexico
@carlosj8260
Para mi esta es la versión mas hermosa de esta obra de arte creada por un mexicano, por supuesto. Que riqueza cultural tiene México con su cantantes, compositores, escritores, pintores, muralistas, escultores, etc, etc. Viva México 🇲🇽🇨🇱
@guillermothrebilcock4377
Viva México. Viva Agustín Lara.
@user-if8gb5zx4q
この、余裕たっぷりな歌い出しから輝かしいラストまで完璧！完璧過ぎる！！
色気、知性、美声、エネルギー、見せ方、色んな要素が素晴らしいバランスで表現されている。惚れてしまいそう、というか２０年以上惚れっぱなし😂
@gabrielarosca2241
AMAZING PLACIDO DOMINGO ❤❤❤❤ RESPECT FOREVER ❤❤❤❤❤
@rosadandrea6531
Me encanta "Granada" y la voz de Plácido Domingo Bellísima!!!!!
@rosadandrea6531
Gracias! Buenos días!