Plácido Domingo Ferrer

Plácido Domingo Ferrer (8 March 1907 – 22 November 1987) 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. Her son Plácido, who was only ten when his father died, played the violin from childhood. Domingo eventually performed in zarzuela and opera orchestras as a violinist prior to becoming a professional baritone.

Career in zarzuelas

Domingo debuted as a singer at the Parisiana Theater of Zaragoza with the work, Los gavilanes. He also began to frequent the Café Castilla on Infantas Street in Madrid. There he had the opportunity to meet great artists, librettists, impresarios, and musicians. At one of these gatherings, he met the singer Pepita Embil. He also worked as a stage director during this time. He eventually became a Mexican citizen. The 67-year-old Domingo sang the bass role of Don Matías. In the 1980s, he and his son made an American Express commercial together for Mexican television. He died on 22 November 1987 at the Hospital Español in Mexico City after suffering a heart attack. 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.