Placido Domingo named Latin recording star of 2010

Spanish opera star Placido Domingo will be honored as the Latin Recording Academy's person of the year in November, during a fundraiser on the eve of the Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas.

The tenor was chosen "for his philanthropic and professional accomplishments," the academy said in a statement.

Domingo, 69, founded Operalia, an annual international voice competition designed to nurture opera careers, and he has raised millions of dollars through benefit concerts for the victims of various natural disasters.

He is the sole performer left of the famed Three Tenors after Luciano Pavarotti died of cancer in 2007 and Jose Carreras announced his retirement last year. He underwent colon cancer surgery in March, but was back performing in April.

Domingo was born in Spain to a family of operatic performers but moved to Mexico at the age of 8 where he later attended the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, initially studying piano and conducting.

He made his official debut as a vocalist at The Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1968 and now appears regularly at all the big opera houses of the world.

Currently he is the General Director of the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, as well as the Artistic Advisor for the Youth Orchestra of the Americas.

He will receive his honor during a concert and tribute dinner on November 10, the day before the 11th annual Latin Grammy awards. Spaniard Alejandro Sanz, Dominican merengue star Juan Luis Guerra, Mexican singer-keyboardist Mario Domm and Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler lead the field of contenders with four nominations each.