Plácido Domingo Ferrer
Plácido Domingo Ferrer | |
---|---|
Born | Plácido Domingo Ferrer 8 March 1907 |
Died | 22 November 1987 | (aged 80)
Spouse | Pepita Embil |
Children | Plácido Domingo |
Plácido Domingo Ferrer (8 March 1907 – 22 November 1987[1]) was a Spanish zarzuela baritone and father of popular operatic tenor Plácido Domingo. Half Catalan and half Aragonese, he grew up and made his early career in Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon. He frequently toured Spain with his soprano wife Pepita Embil. In late 1948, they permanently moved to Mexico, where they successfully ran their own zarzuela company. He also appeared in recordings and on Mexican television.
Biography and career
Family background and youth
Plácido Domingo Ferrer was born in Zaragoza, Spain on 8 March 1907.[1] His mother, María Ferrer Ripol, originally came from the small Aragonese town of La Codoñera in the province of Teruel.[2] As a young woman she moved to Barcelona to find work. There she met her future husband, Pedro Domingo, who was born in Tordera, Catalonia.[2] They moved to Zaragoza, where they bought a restaurant and had three children, Plácido, the oldest, Pedro (known as Perico), and Henriqueta. When her husband died at age 30, she was left to raise their children and run the restaurant by herself.[2] She made sure that her children studied music theory and learned to play instruments. The family would gather to sing together.[2] Her son Plácido, who was only ten when his father died, played the violin from childhood.[3] As a young man, he studied music at the conservatory in Zaragoza with maestro Teodoro Ballo,[4] an Aragonese violinist, composer, and conductor and the founder of the conservatory.[5] Domingo eventually performed in zarzuela and opera orchestras as a violinist prior to becoming a professional baritone.[3]
Career in zarzuelas
Domingo debuted as a singer at the Parisiana Theater of Zaragoza with the work, Los gavilanes.
In 1946, as part of Moreno Torroba's zarzuela company, they embarked for
Later years and death
In 1966 Domingo and Embil returned to Spain to go on tour with José de Luna's company. Upon their return to Mexico, they recorded several zarzuelas for channel 2 on television.
Legacy
Ángel Anadón, director of the Teatro Principal de Zaragoza, later remembered him as "a very versatile baritone who knew all the zarzuelas."[2] Domingo was especially known for his performances as Don Vidal Hernando in Moreno Torroba's Luisa Fernanda. His son, Plácido, recalled that Moreno Torroba claimed "no-one had ever sung the lines 'Ay mi morena, morena clara...' [from Vidal's romanza in Luisa Fernanda] so well and meaningfully as my father."[12] The younger Domingo wrote in his autobiography that his own voice and that of his father bore an uncanny similarity to each other. He especially praised the "wonderful sense of line" and "beautiful legato and diminuendo" in his father's singing.[3] Plácido Domingo has created the Don Plácido Domingo, Sr., Prize of Zarzuela as part of his Operalia singing competition in honor of his father. Each year the winner of the prize receives $10,000.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Placido Domingo Ferrer, Baritone, 80", (obit.) The New York Times (AP), 26 November 1987.
- ^ a b c d e f Campo, Ramón J. (8 August 2009). "El tenor acunado por la jota aragonesa". Heraldo de Aragon. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-394-52329-6.
- ^ ISBN 84-89457-30-1.
- ISBN 84-239-4595-2.
- ISBN 8477371598.
- ^ a b De Maria y Campos, Armando (26 November 1958). "Los 'bolos' de operetas y zarzuelas de Rosa María y Salvador". Novedades. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ De Maria y Campos, Armando (8 May 1954). "Estreno de Tiene razón don Sebastián y presentación de Antonio Medio en el teatro Cervantes". Novedades. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ S. E. (20 October 1988). "'En España la zarzuela se ha tratado como una hijastra': Pepita Embil recibe hoy un gran homenaje". ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ La zarzuela: Evelio Esteve
- ^ "Placido Domingo Ferrer; International Singing Star, Father of Famed Tenor". Los Angeles Times. 25 November 1987. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ISBN 9780195313703.
- ^ Operalia: Prizes