How to say goodbye: some farewells from Placido Domingo
This week's news that Placido Domingo will wind up his tenure as general director of Washington National Opera at the end of this season took some folks by surprise, inside and outside the organization. It will be, as they say, the end of an era.
Domingo will have had 15 seasons with the company, a period that saw considerable growth and, OK, some frustration, too. All in all, though, I still think it's been a pretty good run. (People who loudly carp about this performance or that production in Washington seem to forget that every night isn't exactly a winner at the Met, either.) Domingo brought a certain excitement and class to WNO, even if his over-extended life -- two opera companies to run, any number of operas to sing and/or conduct all over the world -- meant that DC sometimes felt slighted in one way or another.
Domingo's last day has officially been announced as June 30, 2011, which gives folks plenty of time to adjust to the fact that he'll be saying "addio." And, boy, does this guy know how to bid farewell, as you can hear in these vintage gems from his glory-filled career:
