Placido live!

The live, online interview of Placido Domingo for the spanish newspaper El Mundo has begun a few minutes ago! I 'll be translating and updating live while the interview is running!

For the time being, my question is not among the ones pending! But my friend's Teresa is!

Let's see the juciest answers till now:

I blushed when i read about the distinction (No1 Tenor of the history blah blah blah), then i felt happiness, it's an honour to be on this list, but the one who deserves it is Enrico Caruso.

Coplas are like mini operas, they are stories of jealousy, passion, love, hatred etc.

For me, Juan Diego Florez is the best leggiero tenor in history (Parsi says: Yeeeay!)

There is nothing i enjoy most on stage than intense suffering!

I don't think that jazz music will ever enter my repertoire, i 've already sung some pop songs and i'm going to sing more.

My voice has been changing year by year. From lirico i turned into a lirico spinto and then a dramatico and a heldentenor. Throughout the years i found the flexibility needed in order to change different styles, for example i just sang baroque and some months ago i was singing in Wagner's Die Walkuere.

It's hard to choose among 3.300 performances the one who gave you most pleasure and that you vividly remember...Every night is different, every role is different. You live different kind of experiences with everyone of these roles but if i had to choose one i would say the night i first sung Otello in Hamburg 1975. Everybody was anxious if by adding this role to my repertoire i would damage my voice, but i came on stage calm to sing this role which is bigger than life, and this was the first among the 215 marvellous experiences i had singing it.

A guy said that "while waiting for Tamerlano to begin the other day in Madrid, there were people saying that you voice is no adequate for baroque music. And i said, so what? At the end everybody applaused till their palms turned purple. Thank you for your art and please retire as late as possible".

And Placi's answer: "I congratulate you for having you own idea (opinion) about it, so what? By all means, music has to be enjoyed the way it's being received by your soul. I like that they applauded till their palms turned purple and i promise you that i'll retire as late as possible".

You have to take under consideration that nowadays an artistic "slip" is getting known all around the world via internet in less than half an hour. Unfortunately in velocities a lot higher than the normal in which usually a success is getting known.

The most difficult role i have ever sung is Arrigo (I Vespri Siciliani), it's very long and has one of the highest tessituras for a tenor.

An opera singer's life is that of an athlete and every single muscle is important for a singer. But the voice, the two vocal chords, is the most jealous woman in the whole world.

I believe that the most important, technically speaking, for a singer is to have the right support with a diaphragm that works according to the lightness, lyricism, or dramatism of the pages you 're interpreting.

For me, conducting, is a parallel career to singing. When i conduct, i never think that i would like to be singing that night and vice versa. Naturally, the day that i stop singing i will dedicate myself full-time to conducting.

In past years i toured with zarzuelas to Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Vienna and the public has reacted with enthusiasm, this way i took zarzuela to Beijing and the success was extraordinary.

My aim is to be able to sing during the years that are left with the same enthusiasm and result as the one i has 'till today.

End of the interview. Total of questions: 19

The questions that were pending were a lot more... I was very intrigued by one in particular that never got answered, somebody was asking Placido his opinion on Adelaida Negri, the great soprano...

What i had asked was very simple even if some bad boys wanted me to write stuff like "Do you accept the title 'Mingo, the King of A's"... I asked that if he had the chance to begin his career "da cappo" which one among the 127 roles he has sung would he choose to omit?