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Opera Debut From Mexico to the MET In 1959, Plácido Domingo auditioned, as a baritone, for Mexico's National Opera. The committee liked his voice but told him that he was really a tenor. They took him on to sing secondary roles, because he was only eighteen, and also to coach the other singers. That fall, he made his opera debut in the small role of Borsa in Rigoletto. Two years later, in Monterrey, he sang his first leading part – Alfredo in "La Traviata" – but he continued to sing minor roles in Mexico City and elsewhere, including Dallas, where he made his United States debut as Arturo in "Lucia di Lammermoor" in November 1961. Tel Aviv - Hebrew National Opera 280 performances in 12 different roles In 1962 he married the soprano Marta Ornelas, whom he had met during his Conservatory days, and the two of them moved to Tel Aviv to become members of the Hebrew National Opera. They worked hard for survival-level wages, but they both learned a great deal during their three Israeli seasons. New York City Opera Title role Within six months of his departure from Tel Aviv, he was singing with the New York City Opera, and he was chosen for the title role in the world premiere of Alberto Ginastera's Don Rodrigo, with which the City Opera inaugurated its residency in the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1966. From then on, engagements were abundant. Debuts 1967 Placido Domingo debuted at the Hamburg State Opera (Tosca) and at the Vienna State Opera (Don Carlos) 1968 Metropolitan Opera (Adriana Lecouvreur) 1969 Arena di Verona (Turandot), the San Francisco Opera (La Bohème), and La Scala di Milano (Ernani) 1970 Madrid (La Gioconda), and at the Edinburgh Festival (Beethoven's Missa Solemnis) 1971 Covent Garden (Tosca) 1972 Bavarian State Opera in Munich (La Bohème) 1973 Paris Opéra (Il Trovatore) 1975 Salzburg Festival (Don Carlo) World Wide Engagements These debuts were all followed by further engagements in each place and interspersed with many performances elsewhere. He has no favorite opera house, but he has sung at the Met more often than anywhere else and he has opened twenty Met seasons - more than any other singer.