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.
Solamente Una Vez
Plácido Domingo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
como si fuera esta la noche
la ultima vez
Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte despues
como si fuera esta la noche
la ultima vez
Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte despues
Quiero tenerte muy cerca
mirarme en tus ojos
verte junto a mi
piensa que tal vez manana
yo ya estare lejos
muy lejos de aquí
Besame, besame mucho
como si fuera esta la noche
la ultima vez
Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte despues
Solamente una vez
ame en la vida,
solamente una vez
y nada mas
una vez, nada mas
en mi pecho brillo la esperanza,
la esperanza que alumbra el camino
de mi soledad
Una vez, nada mas
se entrega el alma
con la dulce y total
renunciacion,
y cuando ese milagro realiza
el prodigio de amarse,
hay campanas de fiesta que cantan
en el corazon...
Solamente una vez, nada mas
se entrega el alma
con la dulce y total
renunciacion,
y cuando ese milagro realiza
el prodigio de amarse,
hay campanas de fiesta que cantan
en el corazon...
"Solamente una Vez" is a beautiful love song that has been performed by many artists, including Plácido Domingo. The lyrics express the desire to love deeply and fully, to be in the present moment, and to not take love for granted. The song begins with "Besame, besame mucho," which means "Kiss me, kiss me a lot." The singer is asking his lover to kiss him as if it were the last time they were ever going to see each other. He is fearful of losing her and wants to savor every moment they have together.
The second verse expresses the desire to be close to the other person and to look into their eyes. The singer is mindful of the fact that tomorrow he might not be there, so he wants to make the most of the time they have. The song’s refrain repeats the idea of kissing as if it were the last time, with the singer repeating that he is afraid of losing his lover.
The third verse adds the idea that a person may only love deeply once in their life. It speaks to the importance of making the most of the time we have with the people we love. The final lines describe the joy and celebration that comes when we allow ourselves to love deeply and fully.
Overall, "Solamente una Vez" illustrates the importance of being present in a relationship and cherishing the moments we have with those we love. It speaks to the beauty and fragility of human connection, reminding us that we should not take our relationships for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Besame, besame mucho
Kiss me, kiss me a lot
como si fuera esta la noche la ultima vez
as if tonight were the last time
que tengo miedo a perderte perderte despues
I'm afraid of losing you later
Quiero tenerte muy cerca
I want to have you close
mirarme en tus ojos verte junto a mi
to look into your eyes and see you next to me
piensa que tal vez manana yo ya estare lejos
think that maybe tomorrow I'll be far away
muy lejos de aquí
very far from here
Solamente una vez ame en la vida,
I only loved once in my life
solamente una vez y nada mas
only once and nothing else
una vez, nada mas en mi pecho brillo la esperanza,
once, only once, hope shone in my heart
la esperanza que alumbra el camino de mi soledad
the hope that illuminates the path of my loneliness
Solamente una vez, nada mas se entrega el alma
Only once, nothing more, the soul is given
con la dulce y total renunciacion,
with sweet and complete resignation
y cuando ese milagro realiza el prodigio de amarse,
and when that miracle happens that love becomes a wonder
hay campanas de fiesta que cantan en el corazon...
there are bells of celebration that sing in the heart...
Contributed by Gabriella Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.