<<<  <<  -- 4 --  Maria Nockin    A FITTING CELEBRATION

But, this concert was by no means over! For their first encore, the soprano and the tenor, now singing a baritone part, rendered 'La ci darem la mano' from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni. Although as the Don, Domingo tried valiantly to lure Racette to an off stage rendezvous, it was James Conlon, the conductor, who walked off with her, leaving Domingo to finish leading the orchestra.

The audience continued to offer standing ovations after each encore. Racette sang Musetta's Waltz from Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, Domingo sang Augustín Lara's Granada and together they offered the Waltz from Franz Léhar's The Merry Widow asking the audience, all of whom were still in the hall paying rapt attention, to join in. It was an extraordinary evening and a fitting celebration of the magnificent artist, Plácido Domingo.