Plácido Domingo, the famed opera singer, was born in the Barrio de Salamanca section of Madrid, Spain, on January 21, 1941. When Domingo was young, his parents, Plácido Domingo and Pepita Embil, acclaimed zarzuela singers, started their own traveling singing company in Mexico. Domingo was around music since he was born, and began attending the National Conservatory in Mexico in 1949 to receive an all-around musical education. He often sang with his parents' singing company when a child was needed. Performing in such productions as "My Fair Lady" and "The Merry Widow", he began his musical career at a young age.

In 1959, Domingo auditioned for the Mexican National Opera, and was accepted as a tenor. The first opera that he performed with this group was Verdi's "Rigoletto." Domingo appeared in several other Mexican operas, and made his American debut with the Dallas Civic Orchestra, as Arturo in Donizetti's "Lucia...