They stood and clapped...for 20 minutes

Even La Scala's notoriously particular audience held their boos as Domingo said goodbye to Milan

It finished fittingly, with La Scala's audience on its feet, clapping and cheering deliriously for 20 minutes as its favourite tenor tearfully acknowledged the applause and flowers rained down on him.

Forty years ago almost to the day, Placido Domingo, then a young Spanish opera singer with sideburns like Elvis Presley, set foot on the stage of the legendary Milan opera house for his first starring role there, in Verdi's Ernani. This week he returned to mark the anniversary, with a valedictory performance that had the opera buffs weeping in delight.

But this was no cruise into the sunset with the hood down. Despite the advancing years (he is 68, if you believe the official account), he tore into Wagner with Argentinian-born conductor Daniel Barenboim at the reins. The Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde went down well, but more breathtaking still – "spectacular" said the critics – was his rendition of the role of Siegmund from the first act of Wagner's Die Walküre.

One critic noted that there were moments of tiredness or prudence, where in the past the tenor might have floored the throttle. But he added that Domingo, who has done more than 3,000 performances, "still had a voice stronger than most 30-somethings".

Backstage, reliving his triumph, the great man told the correspondent of La Stampa: "Yes, it went well. But it's also thanks to this theatre. To sing at La Scala is something else. It's the quintessence of opera. This public has given me so much and I believe I've given them much as well."

The mood was nostalgic, but this was no swansong. Domingo has 45 singing and 15 conducting engagements lined up for the 2009/10 season. His friends at La Scala have not seen the last of him by any means.

As impressive as the 20-minute standing ovation was the complete absence of whistles or catcalls from La Scala's infamously hard-to-please fanatics in the audience, known as the loggionisti. Some degree of raucous booing is par for the course here. In days gone by, its severe, self-appointed critics in the upper balconies would fling risotto and salami at singers who didn't make the grade.

Dinner is no longer thrown, but the metaphorical knifes are never far away as Domingo's great rival Luciano Pavarotti found out when he was whistled off stage following a lacklustre Don Carlos in 1992 – a role considered among the most difficult in the opera.

La Scala, which has survived problems of every sort in the past ten years, is enjoying a revival. Earlier this week there were some boos for its new production of Carmen, which opened the gala season on Monday, but they were drowned out by the 14-minute ovation for its star, Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili. And the critics were ecstatic.

Adrian Hamilton: Can low notes produce high emotion?

Comment

It is typical of Placido Domingo that he should sing in Italian to a 20-minute standing ovation in Berlin a month ago and in German to a 20-minute standing ovation in Italy this week. Even more extraordinary was the fact that he was singing a baritone part in Germany – the great baritone part, indeed, of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra – and was back to the most testing of all tenor roles in a sequence of Wagnerian arias in Milan.

Going out on a low note is not unknown in opera. Sopranos do it all the time. But it's quite a thing for a tenor, let alone one as renowned as Placido Domingo. And it's also something of a risk. Opera expresses high emotion in sudden shifts of register, up and down, and Domingo is bound to find that much harder as a baritone than he did as a tenor, even if his voice has dropped with age.

But then the foremost villains in opera – from Iago to Don Giovanni – are baritones, and the devil, as we know, always has the best tunes.

What was the most memorable arts event of 2009? In the comments form below (or via email to arts@independent.co.uk) nominate your favourite - in film, music, theatre, comedy, dance or visual arts - with a brief explanation as to why it tops your list and we'll print a selection in The Independent Readers' Review of 2009.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Arts & Ents blogs

The Photography Blog: ‘Control Order House’ by Edmund Clark – Photographing our response to terrorism

Recent events in Boston have served as a painful reminder of the threat posed by terrorism. In Contr...

Parachute Youth: Supporting Rudimental is not a clash of interests

I’ve not heard many bands that had quite the same kick as Pendulum did. Their unbelievable fusion of...

Review of Glee ‘Sweet Dreams’

The episode begins with Finn (Cory Monteith) at college, partying and accidentally participating in ...

       
Independent
Travel Shop
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more

ES Rentals

    'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

    Masculinity in crisis?

    'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
    Have US shock jocks gone too far?

    Have US shock jocks gone too far?

    An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
    The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

    The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

    Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
    Heavenly Bodies

    Heavenly Bodies

    Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell
    'He will always be a friend': Jackie Stewart backs Polanski

    'He will always be a friend'

    Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski
    The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

    The price of pacifism

    From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
    'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

    Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

    To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
    Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

    Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

    Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
    Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

    Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

    If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
    The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

    The experts' guide to summer

    From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
    Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

    Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

    Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
    Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

    Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

    The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
    Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

    Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

    Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
    Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

    Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

    Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
    One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

    One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

    Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in