Seven time Grammy Award winning opera star Placido Domingo is being presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization that presents the Austria Music Prize.
The 79 year old star was among the millions of citizens around the world who had contracted the Covid-19 virus. The August 6 invitation only ceremony in Salzburg will be Domingo’s first outing since recovering from the virus.
The panel of journalists who selected Domingo for the prize spoke on the famed tenor saying he is, ’’one of the best and most influential vocal actors in the world. He has set international standards at the highest level for decades.”
On hearing the news about the award, Domingo said, “it is such a delicate moment in history for all of us, for our health and for the health of the whole world. The message of the Austrian Music Prize is simply wonderful: the promotion of the arts, and especially of music, is important to gain the energy for a new beginning.”
Domingo will join Rene Kollo, Grace Bumbry, Zubin Mehta, and Neil Shicoff as winners of the award.
While numerous organizations in the United States have pulled performances by Domingo from their schedules over allegations of sexual harassment; however, European audiences and symphonies still love the artist. Domingo is set to perform in Caserta and Verona this summer.
Domingo has denied the allegations but issued an amended apology saying, “my apology was sincere and heartfelt, to any colleague who I have made to feel uncomfortable, or hurt in any manner, by anything I have said or done. But I know what I have not done, and I’ll deny it again. I have never behaved aggressively toward anyone, and I have never done anything to obstruct or hurt anyone’s career.”
feature photo credit: By William – Banco de Información de Jorge Esma Bazán, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57525417