Spanish tenor and conductor Placido Domingo (b. 1941) has
been making beautiful music since his stage debut in 1959, undertaking over 140
operatic roles, leading any number of orchestras, and recording over 100
albums. The present disc, Songs, is
his first pop album in over twenty years.
Looking more and more like “The Most Interesting Man in
the World,” Domingo may well be the greatest singer in the world. Heck, he may
be the greatest singer of all time; his fans will no doubt agree, and it’s hard
to argue against the point. This time out he sings fourteen pop numbers, all
favorites of his, on eight of them accompanied by other noteworthy artists:
singers Josh Groban, Harry Connick Jr., Zaz, Katherine Jenkins, Susan Boyle,
Placido Domingo Jr., actress and singer Megan Hilty, and trumpeter Chris Botti.
Domingo opens the show with “Cancion para una reina,” a
love song of exquisite beauty, which the singer caresses with subtle care.
Next, we hear “Sous le ciel de Paris” in a duet with Josh Grobin; it’s lighter
and a tad more upbeat than the first tune, the two men’s voices blending
wonderfully but Domingo’s clearly the more powerful.
“Time After Time” features Domingo with Harry Connick Jr.,
and it has a breezy Sinatra-like style to it. Although Domingo and Connick have
about as different voices as you can imagine, they make it work by approaching
it in a casual, easygoing manner.
And so it goes. Among my favorite songs are the aforementioned
“Cancion”; then “Come What May,” a duet with Katherine Jenkins; a meltingly
affecting “Parla piu piano” from The
Godfather; “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic,
with Megan Hilty; “Eternally,” Chaplin’s song from Limelight; “Jalaousie,” possibly the most famous tango ever
written; and a touching duet with Domingo and his son on “What a Wonderful
World.”
You can usually sense Domingo holding back somewhat in his
duets so as not to steamroll his singing partner. Now in his seventies, he’s
still got the strong, mellifluous voice; the impeccable inflections; the
emotional range and power; and the pure communications skills of a great vocal
artist. He may go on forever; one can only hope.
Sony recorded the songs in 2011 and 2012 at various
locations including Avatar Studios, New York City, U.S.A.; Abbey Road Studio 1,
London, England; Studio Millenia, Valencia, Spain; CATA Studios, Madrid, Spain;
and 71 Recording Studios, Zurich, Switzerland. So, it’s an international
project. The sonics are typical of most pop recordings: The vocals are front
and center, the orchestra spread out behind very widely but without much depth,
transparency, or air. Nevertheless, it’s the voices that count, and they are
firm and forceful, with no audible imbalances in the response. There are,
incidentally, some nice percussive sounds on “Come What May.”
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