by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Pl´cido Domingo(PHOTO BY NEWS SERVICES)
Tenor of the Year: Days after being announced as the Latin Recording Academy’s top honoree in 2010, Plácido Domingo has solidified his commitment to just one of the two opera companies he directs in the U.S.
Domingo, 69, has extended his contract as general director of Los Angeles Opera through 2013, with an option to renew on a yearly basis after that. The Spanish tenor made the announcement just days before the Sept. 23 launch of the company’s 2010-11 season, with two productions in which he is artistically involved.
He sings the role of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in the world premiere production of Il Postino, a Spanish-language opera by Mexican composer Daniel Catán commissioned by L.A. Opera Ð partially with funds provided by the nonprofit Hispanics for L.A. Opera. He also conducts several performances of The Marriage of Figaro; both productions continue through mid-October.
Shortly after the L.A. premieres, Domingo announced he is stepping down as director of the Washington National Opera when his contract expires next year. In a letter to the company’s board, Domingo raises the likelihood the financially troubled organization may consider merging with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Earlier this month the Academy named Domingo as this year’s Person of the Year, an award that recognizes a musician’s charitable and professional work. He will be feted at a Nov. 10 gala dinner in Las Vegas, a day before the organization hands out its Latin Grammy awards. Several recording stars are expected to perform some of Domingo’s pop repertoire. The dinner will raise funds for a charity of Domingo’s choice and for the Academy’s music education programs.
EARLY CANDIDATES: Mexico has chosen two films by well-known directors which offer different takes on contemporary issues to represent it in the race for Hollywood’s Oscar and Spain’s Goya award.
The Mexican candidate for an Oscar nomination is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful, a film that earned Spanish actor Javier Bardem a best actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A co-production with Spain, the film is about a man who earns a meager living as a broker for Chinese and Africa immigrants in Barcelona. Biutiful, which opens widely in Mexico on Oct. 22, is the Oscar nominated director’s first film without screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
