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Placido Domingo gives concert in Chengdu
By Zhang Ao and Huang Zhiling (China Daily Sichuan Bureau)
Updated: 2009-09-23 17:19

World top tenor Placido Domingo gave a concert in Sichuan Province's Chengdu on the night of September 22.

He was joined by world-famous soprano Virginia Tola, Chinese singer Song Zuying, and 100 child earthquake survivors from Beichuan County.

The concert, which lasted 2 hours, comprised of 24 well-known songs, including E Lucevan Le Stelle, Tonight and extracts from the Sound of Music.

Domingo, 68, impressed the audience of 6,000 deeply with his strong versatile voice and his ringing and dramatic tone, which drew waves of applause.

Domingo's duet with Song Zuying was another highlight of the concert on Tuesday, when they sang Kangding Love Song, a famous Sichuan folk song.

Since the pair's remarkable duet of the Flame of Love at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese audience had looked forward to another joint performance.

The concert ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Syne with a children's choir from Beichuan, to express the Sichuan people's gratitude towards those involved in the province's quake relief.

"China has taken a great change in the recent two decades. I am honored to be here in the magnificent country, and have the opportunity to sing with Chinese singers, which is definitely an excellent bridge between Chinese and western culture," Domingo told China Daily in a press conference before the concert.