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MUSICAL NOTES

Plácido Domingo makes conducting debut in P. R.
By Peggy Ann Bliss

Plácido Domingo, at 66, with his singing voice in its prime, yearns to be taken seriously as a conductor, and as a mentor. Recently in his star-studded appearance with Russian superdiva Anna Netrebko, he showed he is a master at both.

More than Caruso or Pavarotti, Domingo owned the opera in the 20th century. Arriving on the scene with television, compact discs and mass concerts, he changed the face of opera.

He and the recently deceased Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti and American soprano Beverly Sills were the three most influential in the operatic world of the 20th century.

Plácido is still assiduously passing on the torch.

The concert by the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, with tickets at $200 and $300, and co-sponsored by The STAR, with major sponsorship by Spanish bank, Banco Santander, was a success.

Bariton Erwin Schrott thrilled the audience under Domingo's baton
Netrebko, a hot-blooded Russian soprano, and bass-baritone Erwin Schrott, an equally fiery Uruaguayan, held their own despite the adoring anticipation of witnessing Plácido on the podium.

As conductor, he brought a surge of enthusiasm in the orchestra, which rose to the occasion and played beautifully. In the overtures from Mozart’s “Le Nozze de Figaro,” Verdi’s “Nabucco,” and Gaetano Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale,” the orchestra was inspired.

Plácido, who made his conducting debut in 1973 in City Opera of New York, and 10 years later at the Met is a consummate musician, a facet of the idolized tenor that few in Puerto Rico know.

The 21st century calls for great accomplishments. Not only does he conduct opera, in places like the Met and Covent Garden, but symphonies and other classical works with great orchestras such as those of Berlin and Vienna.

Evident throughout the evening was the conductor’s rapport with the rising stars. He has conducted Netrebko with Villazón in “Manon” and Roberto Alagna in“Romeo et Juliette.” Schrott, who won Operalia in1998, has sung “Don Giovanni” under the Domingo’s baton.

Netrebko, the recipient of the Russian Government Prize and who on Dec. 2 was the subject of a major Sunday Magazine piece in the New York Times, was last year hailed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential persons. The versatile, outrageously sexy and talented Schrott, was also a darling of the public, which didn’t even seem to mind that the conductor didn’t sing.

They lived up to their hype, creating the anticipated youthful chemistry -- Netrebko stunning in her diamonds and long hair and Schrott bizarrely dressed in his rocker black.

There even was a bit of coquetry between Netrebko and Domingo in the “Cuand m’en vo” selection, known better as “Musetta’s Waltz” from “La Boheme.”

Among the soprano highlights were the superbly nuanced “Casta Diva” from Norma and the spirited “Je veux vivre” from Charles Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette.” This opera is the subject of the latest high-definition release of Met at the Movies with Nebtrebko and Roberto Alagna. I saw it at a private showing and it is outstanding.

The real surprise, which brought the audience to its feet, was Schott’s tango encores, “Una tarde gris” y “Nostalgia,” accompanied by Grupo TAMU directed by Alfonso Fuentes, which, lacking a ITAL de rigueur ITAL bandoneon, made excellent use of the accordion, along with violin, bass violin and piano. Bravo!


“Con amor” CD is always fresh
Rumanian violinist Elena Sherbanesco, a member of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and long time resident, is celebrating the second season of her first CD, “Con Amor,” a beautiful collection of Puerto Rican danzas. The record is a gem featuring such favorites as “Verde Luz” by El Topo, and “Tú y yo” by Angel Mislán.

Guiro player Emma Colon Zayas, the best on that typical instrument, according to Sherbanesco, adds a unique touch. Makes a great gift, anytime. For information, call Elena at 787-565-6643.