[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PLACIDO DOMINGO

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to pay tribute to someone 
who has touched the lives of millions not just in this country but 
across the world. This week, tenor Placido Domingo sings the title role 
in the new Washington National Opera production of Handel's 
``Tamerlano.'' It is his 130th role, an unprecedented feat. He has made 
each of these parts into something alive and multidimensional. Tragic 
figures like Otello or Cavaradossi have come to life and, through their 
actions, have laid out time-honored truths about human emotions and how 
we live. Mr. Domingo's singing, marked by a clarion tone and natural 
sense of the shape of a musical phrase, can move us to great heights 
and the deepest depths. He is a positive force in the world and someone 
that everyone can celebrate.
  Next year marks the 40th anniversary of his debuts at the Lyric Opera 
of Chicago and the country's premiere opera house, the Metropolitan 
Opera. He frequently sings across the globe, gracing stages of esteemed 
European opera houses like London's Royal Opera and Milan's La Scala. 
He might be most widely known as one of the ``3 Tenors.'' His recording 
of grand productions and solo recitals fill store racks in my home 
State of Vermont, as well as the whole country. These are unheralded 
achievements for any tenor, undertakings that have led to numerous 
awards like several Grammy awards and his recent election by a 
respected British magazine as the ``King of Singers.''
  Thankfully, his ego is not nearly as long or wide as that list of 
laurels. He is a deeply respectful individual, and he takes interest in 
others. He can be extremely kind. He paid me one of the nicest favors 
last year, when, at a special function, my wife Marcelle asked him to 
sing ``Happy Birthday'' to me. Rarely has the simple tune been heard 
with such color and finesse. It was a moment that I will never forget.
  Even in that straightforward, if always sweet, tune that amazing 
sense of the inner workings of music was there. There have been other 
great tenors but few who have shown such a strong musical sense. The 
word used most often to describe Mr. Domingo's approach to each score 
is ``scrupulous,'' a word that means meticulous, fastidious, 
conscientious. That quality extends into his work from the podium as a 
conductor and from the boardroom as a general manager, not only of the 
Washington National Opera but also the Los Angeles Opera. He gets 
inside whatever he is doing--singing, conducting, administration--and 
makes it come out fresh, natural, and seemingly right.
  He has literally lived and breathed opera throughout his life. As a 
child, he sang the popular Spanish operas known as zarzuela. The two 
companies that he directs have commissioned new operas, and it is new 
operas that make all the difference between a ``has-been'' and a 
living, breathing art form. Just 2 years ago, the Washington National 
Opera put on Scott Wheeler's ``Democracy.'' Its themes of politics, 
love, and Washington still resonate today.
  Mr. Domingo spends a great deal of time in the United States, which 
has received him like the hero he often sings on stage. He knows New 
York, Washington, and Los Angeles like a native. He undertakes tours to 
sing across the Nation, sometimes bringing music to communities that 
may not have a major opera house. He is not an American citizen, but he 
embraces some of the best qualities of what it means to be an American, 
energetic and open, alive to life's possibilities. He has forged a 
special bond with the country, and for that we are all grateful.
  As Mr. Domingo takes on his role this week at the Washington National 
Opera, I know the entire Senate joins me in congratulating and thanking 
him for his relentless work and his spectacular ability to move us to 
tears, laughter, and sheer joy.

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