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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Short and sweet, but a delight for Domingo fans, January 25, 2003
This is the DVD version of a video recorded in 1987, obviously, to judge from its length of 53 minutes, for a television broadcast. The video quality is just passable (after you make all the adjustments possible for the color, a "ghost" remains around all the singers), and the sound is only PCM stereo, so I have given the disk only 4 stars. But the concert itself is absolutely superb, with Domingo still in his prime, though beginning to show the signs of age (physically only). After some wonderfully warm renditions of five great opera arias that I personally have not have seen or heard Domingo sing elsewhere, he invites us into his Spanish heart of hearts with three delightful Spanish arias that most of us will certainly not have heard before. The first Spanish piece is a long and passionate duet with the Columbian mezzo Marta Senn, who proves herself fully capable of standing her own against Domingo's consummate lyricality. Next we meet the Romanian baritone, Eduard Tomagian, who delivers an unforgettable performance of another Spanish aria with total self-mastery and great style. I heard from a Romanian studying in Tokyo about a great classical music festival that is held in Romania, and singers like Tomagian and Angela Gheorghiu demonstrate that the country is home to an incredibly vibrant musical culture, which has undoubtedly been flowering since the overthrow of the country's Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, back in 1989. As Domingo fans from the audience flooded up to the stage at the end of his last scheduled number to present him with flowers, I noticed something about the "culture" that has grown up around Domingo and the Three Tenors that I was not aware of before. At least at this concert, all of the fans who presented flowers were women, and it was very reminiscent of an Elvis concert except that all of them seemed quite well on in years. There was no dearth of young opera lovers in the audience, but the dominance of those close to or already in their "autumn" years was obvious. The same thing applied to the members of the English Chamber Orchestra, who put in a tremendous performance that was not hindered a bit, and probably greatly enhanced, by the proud presence of many musicians where were past what used to be considered the age of retirement -- again most prominently women. I think this speaks of one of the most salutary things that has happened to society, in the "advanced" countries in particular, in the last few decades. With the decline in the birthrate and the increasing average age of the population, more and creative people have continued to contribute actively to society and culture well into their sixties and seventies -- and even beyond. All I can say is "bravo" to this trend, and to all those musicians, like Domingo himself, who have refused to let aging bring an end to their creative activities. If one stops and thinks about it, it is really a natural thing for the world of culture -- "high culture" at least -- to be led by those with the most experience. And music in particular, unlike sports and dance for instance, is a realm of creative activity where the deepening of one's spiritual maturity is least affected by the gradual decline of the physical frame in which that spirit is cased.
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