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Plcido Domingo and Operalia: Building a Future for Talent

Plcido Domingo is of course rst and foremost a singer who has made his mark asone of the greatest artists of the last 50 years. He is known by audiences, youngand old alike, across the world and maintains a blazing schedule of erformancesacross the globe, week!after!week, year!after!year as a "ery youthful #0!something.

$he %aestro doesn&t rest on his laurels gi"ing endless farewell aearances andtours, but is an acti"e roonent of new reertoire, constantly adding new roles tohis list of o"er '(0 with new commissions. He has been )uoted as saying that *when+ rest, + rust when asked if he should be maintaining such a "igorous schedule.%aestro Domingo is also a conductor ser"es as an administrator in his role as-eneral Director of the os /ngeles era and has won '1 -rammys, erformed for

millions as one of $he $hree $enors and whose telecast of $osca from 2ome was"iewed by more than a billion eole across the globe.

$wo years ago, + had the fortune to work closely with %aestro Domingo in 3e"ille inresenting his "ery rst festi"al carrying his own name. 4ot only did it gi"e me aninsight into his uncanny ability to understand the delicate balance betweenursuing artistic )uality with knowing what audiences want, it ga"e me a sense ofhis ercely!focused commitment to the future of the arts.

or Plcido Domingo, music and arts education and gi"ing oortunity to those whomight not otherwise ha"e the chance or latform to showcase their talent is erhasthe singlemost imortant ob6ecti"e of his life&s work outside of his achie"ements as

a erformer. or this reason, he founded eralia in '7789 it has since become oneof the most imortant institutions for disco"ering and launching the careers of themost romising young "ocal talent in the world.

The Sphinx Organization: Diversity and Fostering e! "udiences

http://www.forbes.com/sites/barrettwissman/2014/09/12/the-sphinx-organization-diversity-and-fostering-new-audiences/http://www.forbes.com/sites/barrettwissman/2014/09/12/the-sphinx-organization-diversity-and-fostering-new-audiences/

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Plcido Domingo and Barrett #issman$ %raig &athe!$'" Opera

n 3aturday e"ening, + attended the nals of eralia at the Dorothy :handlerPa"ilion in downtown os /ngeles. ;ach year, the cometition screens around '000alicants from around the world which was narrowed down to the eld of (0contestants who made their way to os /ngeles for the e"ent. $he contestants&ethe last three years took lace resecti"ely in%oscow, ?ei6ing and @eronaA.

$he le"el of the talent this year was high and the winners were certainly deser"ingcandidates. %ario :hang, a tenor from -uatemala who won rst rize, had aowerful and imressi"e deli"ery. Boshua -uerrero, a os /ngeles nati"e, imressedwith his musicality and the almost sentimental )uality of his )uickly!aced and old!fashioned "ibrato. /manda Coodbury, at the age of 1, took us through theemotional roller!coaster of helia&s mad scene from Hamlet with the comosure

and bra"ura of a seasoned star.

Plcido Domingo and Operalia: Building a Future for Talent

?efore 3aturday, + had ne"er attended the actual cometition. + ha"e howe"er beento many cometitions of all sorts and witnessed the stress and the nail!bitingtension that er"ades the atmoshere of most of these e"ents, which is franklycounterroducti"e to anything re)uiring creati"ity or artistic e

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and he actually conducts the orchestra during all the erformances at the nals, hissirit of generosity is e"ident. ne can feel the reasons he has created andsuorted eralia in the air.

+ had the imression from seaking with se"eral of the contestants that they allcame away as winners and learned a great deal artistically and rofessionally from

the ee"ents like these are normally sti= and staid a=airs for meA, thefood and wine tasted betterE Perhas all of this is why so many of the contestants ateralia ha"e gone on to ha"e such illustrious careers >unlike most of the othercometitions out there todayA.

+n a time when there is so much doom and gloom in the erforming arts world, it isheartening to send an e"ening with Plcido Domingo at an e"ent like eralia.%aestro Domingo told me after the erformances 3aturday e"ening that the only

reason he has dedicated so much time and e=ort to eralia was to make sure thatothers might ha"e the same oortunities he was so fortunate to ha"e and thatthese ossibilities should be oen to e"eryone and anyone with talent irregardlessof where they come from or what their economic reality might be. Ce wouldcollecti"ely be much better o= if we had more stars and celebrity artists like PlcidoDomingo dedicating themsel"es to education and the future of the young andtalented.

?ra"o to Plcido Domingo for this accomlishment. +t may be the most imortantwork he is doing.

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Plcido Domingo in Tha(s

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