UCLA Medal Presentation to Placido Domingo

Speech

Good afternoon, everyone. It is a great honor to introduce and present the UCLA Medal to Placido Domingo!

We honor Placido Domingo both because as an artist, he is extraordinarily gifted and because as a person, he is exceptionally giving. His professional accomplishments are, of course, legendary. He has been at the top of his profession for over half a century.

On albums and television, in concerts and films, through Opera, Pop and Latin music, millions have been moved and inspired by his enormous talent. Fortunately we in Los Angeles, and at UCLA, have enjoyed a long relationship with Domingo.

He has contributed to the cultural vitality of Los Angeles as a leader and educator, and he has performed in every L.A. opera season for the past three decades. In fact, this Friday will mark the 50th anniversary of his Los Angeles premiere, an anniversary the LA Opera will honor with a special concert on that date.

He is now in his sixth decade at the top of the operatic world. How has he done it? What accounts for his power and his longevity? How does he continue to move audiences across the globe?

A rising operatic luminary and a UCLA alum, Evan Hughes, has his own theory. He recalls watching a Domingo performance and said, “it clicked for me that what he was accomplishing was the pinnacle of operatic art. He was all in. Voice, heart, brain, soul in unison. No fear. I wanted to know what that felt like.”

That total commitment to being “all in,” has propelled Placido Domingo’s greatness as an artist. Being “all in” earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the vast size of his repertoire and for having received an astonishing 101 curtain calls after a performance of Verdi’s Otello.

His commitment to his art — and to nurturing the artistry of others— led him to direct regional opera companies like Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. He helped turn them into internationally recognized ensembles.

His talent and hard work brought him to the greatest opera houses of the world, and in 1994 it also brought him to UCLA as an adjunct professor. While at UCLA, he led a series of choral and orchestral master classes with music students and voice majors. (And of course, Maestro, if you would like to return to that position, I might be able to pull some strings.)

But not every great artist merits the UCLA medal. To get a deeper understanding of our awardee, I want to quote another rising opera star, UCLA alum Angel Blue. She says, “One might expect me to only speak about singing, where Maestro Domingo is concerned, but I would be at fault if I did not mention just how hard he works at being a good human being. He is an example for us all.”

Angel witnessed that goodness first hand. She is one of the hundreds of young talents encouraged and personally mentored by Domingo in youth training programs he has established and supported here in Los Angeles, in Washington and in Spain.

These programs can change the lives of emerging artists. They also allow Domingo to tend to the future of his art form, to help preserve its cultural heritage and help pass it on to future generations.

As Angel points out, Domingo is always “forward-looking” when it comes to nurturing new voices. She notes how he is always trying to champion new talents, no matter where they are from. He is there to embrace them and help pave their road to success.

Today, Angel Blue, and many more, can share their voices with the world, because Placido Domingo shared his attention and care with them. In fact, that caring nature is what makes our honoree truly stand out.

While he is “all in” as an artist, he is also “all in” as a person. Moved not only by the pageantry of the stage, but by the real world around him as well, he has helped raise funds for earthquake and hurricane relief in Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Louisiana. Surely, even the gold albums, the sold out concerts, the accolades and Grammies cannot compare to all those he has helped in times of great need.

That commitment to service is also one of the animating spirits of UCLA. It is our shared commitment to the greater good, in service to the highest ideals of humanity and community, which brings us together.

Please welcome to the stage an artist, a craftsman, a teacher, a humanitarian, a man of the world, an honorary Bruin and the recipient of the UCLA Medal, Placido Domingo!

Before we present you with the Medal, I’d like everyone to hear this citation, which reads:

PLACIDO DOMINGO:

Often described as the greatest operatic artist of our time, you have made extraordinary contributions to the betterment of our world. While excelling as an individual, singing more than 3,900 performances of 148 roles, you also have enabled American opera companies to gain international recognition. Your mentoring of young musicians worldwide is unparalleled in classical music. Your influential voice has championed the restoration and preservation of European cultural heritage and the protection of intellectual property. Through benefit concerts you have raised millions of dollars to aid victims of catastrophic natural disasters. For your phenomenal talent, your abundant generosity, and your unfailing commitment to upcoming artists, we proudly bestow upon you the UCLA Medal.