caption years_active children birth_place citizenship nationality birth_date spouse image article_title name occupation
domingo opera honors on 31 october 2008 in washington , d.c. speaking at the national endowment for the arts 1957 -- present 3 madrid , spain spain spanish 21 january 1941 ana marta domingo -lrb- 1962 -- present -rrb- maría guerra cué -lrb- 1957 -- 1958 -rrb- plácido domingo , 2008.jpg plácido domingo
 plácido domingo tenor , conductor
plácido domingo

josé plácido domingo embil -lrb- , kbe ; born 21 january 1941 -rrb- , known as plácido domingo , is a spanish tenor , conductor and arts administrator .
he has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility , regularly performing in italian , french , german , spanish , english and russian in the most prestigious opera houses in the world .
although primarily a `` lirico-spinto '' tenor for most of his career , especially popular for his cavaradossi , hoffmann , don josé , and canio , he quickly moved into more dramatic roles , becoming the most acclaimed otello of his generation .
in the early 2010s , he transitioned from the tenor repertory into almost exclusively baritone parts , most notably simon boccanegra .
he has performed 146 different roles .
unusually for a classical singer , domingo has achieved significant success as a crossover artist , especially in the genres of latin and popular music .
in addition to winning fourteen grammy and latin grammy awards , several of his records have gone silver , gold , platinum and multi-platinum .
his first pop album , `` perhaps love '' -lrb- 1981 -rrb- , spread his fame beyond the opera world .
the title song , performed as a duet with country and folk singer john denver , has sold almost four million copies and helped lead to numerous television appearances for the tenor .
he also starred in many cinematically released and televised opera movies , particularly under the direction of franco zeffirelli .
in 1990 , he began singing with fellow tenors luciano pavarotti and josé carreras as part of the three tenors .
the first three tenors recording became the best-selling classical album of all time .
growing up working in his parent 's zarzuela company in mexico , domingo has since regularly promoted this form of spanish light opera .
he also increasingly conducts operas and concerts and is currently the general director of the los angeles opera in california .
he was initially the artistic director and later general director of the washington national opera from 1996-2011 .
he has been involved in numerous humanitarian works , as well as efforts to help young opera singers , including starting and running the international singing competition , operalia .
