Famed Spanish tenor Placido Domingo picked up the baton to conduct the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra for the finals of his international opera competition, Operalia, held at the Degollado Theater last Sunday evening.
Domingo began his career at the same theater half a century ago and was evidently thrilled to return to a stage that holds important memories for him.
He was generous in his praise for the orchestra, calling them “extraordinary” and congratulating them for their hard work over several days.
A full house enjoyed some outstanding performances by 12 singers from five nations who had advanced through heats to the finals.
The ten-person jury selected tenor Keon-Woo Kim from South Korea and soprano Elsa Dreisig from France as winners of Operalia’s male and female main contests. Each collected 30,000 dollars for their efforts.
The Zarzuela prize for men, worth 10,000 dollars, was shared by Mexico’s Juan Carlos Heredia and Nicholas Brownlee of the United States, both baritones. Italian-American soprano Marina Costa-Jackson won the female category.
Interviewed prior to taking a plane to Germany, where he is enrolled in a course, Heredia praised the competition’s “professionalism” and Domingo’s boundless energy and enthusiasm.
“He is an incredible person,” Heredia said. “In the morning he was directing the piano, then the choir and in the evening the orchestra. He was also giving interviews. He didn’t stop. He’s a very active person, A school unto himself.”
Keon-Woo Kim and Russian soprano Elena Stikhina won Rolex watches after being chosen as the Public Prize winners. They were chosen after audience members left voting slips in boxes in the lobby.
Due the scarcity of tickets for the general public, the competition was broadcast live on a large screen in the plaza outside the theater. However, with only a few chairs provided for spectators, the broadcast was not watched by a significant number of people.
After the prize-giving ceremonies concluded, all the contestants and Domingo sang the Operalia anthem.