Placido/7″/mike1st/mark2nd

No. 45

L.A. Opera Hires Domingo

Talk about your culture shock. Superstar tenor Placido Domingo surprised the opera world last fall by announcing that he will become artistic director of the L.A. Opera in 2000.

Domingo, already principal guest conductor and artistic adviser to the local opera company, will take over the top creative spot in Los Angeles while still serving as artistic director to the Washington, D.C. opera. Despite that commitment, as well as others to sing and conduct around the world not to mention ownership of a New York restaurant the 57-year-old said he will be able to fulfill his Los Angeles responsibilities in full.

Many of those responsibilities can be delegated, he said, and the administrative stuff will be handled by someone else. Domingo did concede that his upcoming L.A. gig will probably require him to reduce his performing commitments in Europe.

As a worldwide celebrity, his name will help considerably in fund-raising efforts, which the opera needs to survive. And as a Spanish speaker who was raised in Mexico, he can reach out to L.A.’s growing Latino community.

But to put on extravaganzas similar to those produced by other major city operas, Domingo will be hard pressed. L.A. Opera’s annual budget is about $19 million, considerably less than that of Washington ($25 million) and a speck compared with New York’s Metropolitan Opera ($170 million).

R.W. Greene