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Placido Domingo was born in Madrid in 1941. His parents were well-known Zarzuela operetta performers, and the family moved to Mexico when Placido was eight. As a teenager, he divided his time between music and soccer, but when it came time to choose a career, music won — to the everlasting delight of audiences all over the world.

The tenor made his operatic debut as a soloist singing the part of Alfredo in a 1961 Mexican production of La Traviata, and his American debut came later the same year as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Domingo’s Metropolitan Opera debut followed in 1968 and he has since appeared at the Met in more than 400 performances of 41 different roles. He continues to appear regularly at the other major opera houses in the world including Milan’s La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House and l’Opéra National de Paris. He has also performed at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals.