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BBC MUNDO RADIO
Plácido Domingo, the peripatetic tenor, conductor and opera house impresario, suffered severe abdominal pain while performing in Tokyo last week and will undergo “preventive surgery,” his spokeswoman said on Monday.
He is hoping to miss no more than six weeks of performances, returning for a late-March run in the title role of “Simon Boccanegra” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, said the spokeswoman, Nancy Seltzer.
Before then his schedule called for a series of performances in “Tamerlano” at the Royal Opera House in London and a Zurich Opera performance of “Boccanegra.” The “Tamerlano” performances have already been canceled.
Mr. Domingo, 69, suffered “intense pain and discomfort” while singing and conducting in Tokyo, Ms. Seltzer said. The pain lasted for more than a week, she said in a statement. He traveled to New York for a medical examination, and doctors recommended the surgery.
She declined to characterize the nature of the surgery or what condition it was designed to prevent. “I know he’s a public figure, but aren’t certain things allowed to be private?” she said. She said the surgery would take place in New York, without identifying the hospital, and that the operation had not been scheduled.
Mr. Domingo displays an extraordinary energy as he travels the world, leading performances in the pit and displaying a still-healthy tenor voice. He is also general director of the Los Angeles Opera and the Washington National Opera, prompting periodic concerns over whether he is spread too thin. Those worries intensified during a recent round of financial troubles at both companies.
Officials of the companies and Mr. Domingo’s supporters reject the notion that Mr. Domingo’s busy schedule detracts from running the companies, and point out that the financial problems at arts institutions are widespread in the recession.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Opera did not immediately respond to a question about whether Mr. Domingo’s surgery would affect any official duties. A Washington National Opera spokesman said Mr. Domingo remained “in close contact” with the company’s team “at all times.”
“Knowing Mr. Domingo’s tireless commitment to the company, we have every expectation that he will continue to carry out his responsibilities with the same passion and dedication that he brings to each of his roles,” the Washington National Opera said in an e-mailed statement. “We wish him a speedy recovery.”
As Ms. Seltzer put it in an e-mail message: “Please know he’s not having brain surgery, and, knowing Plácido, he will be working as they roll the gurney into surgery and again as he leaves recovery.”
