Placido Domingo Moments of Passion

Plácido Domingo has two passions: music and soccer. He has attended every World Cup final since 1990; this CD features several of the songs and arias he has performed at these events, including the premier recording of a song composed for him by his son, Plácido Domingo Jr., especially for the 2006 games in Germany. Entitled "Willkommen bei Uns," it opens the program in a short version and closes it in a long, multilingual one. (The booklet credits Samantha Domingo as lyricist without specifying her status in the family.) The rest of Moments of Passion is a compilation of Domingo's greatest hits, drawn from his enormous discography and bearing witness to his incredible vocal, stylistic, and emotional range. The disc presents arias from his signature roles in operas by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Flotow, and Verdi, including a scene from La Traviata where he is joined by several winners of his competition Operalia. There are also arias by Mozart and Handel and songs with Hollywood-style orchestral arrangements by Lee Holdridge: Lara's "Granada," Lecuona's "Andalucía," and two by John Denver, who contributes vocals in one, while Maureen McGovern acts as partner in the other. Baritone Sherrill Milnes, bass Paul Plishka, and the radiant-voiced soprano Montserrat Caballé take small roles in the operatic excerpts. The result is a linguistic and stylistic smorgasbord, but Domingo's vocal grandeur and powerful personality make it work. Though the dates of the original recordings are not mentioned, they obviously cover many years: Domingo's voice changes perceptibly from bright to dark, light to heavy, but its intensity, variability, and expressiveness never falter. Whether in moments of passion or repose, Domingo can do no wrong. --Edith Eisler