José Plácido Domingo Embil was born on January 21, 1941, in the Retiro district of Madrid, Spain. He was born into a family deeply rooted in the world of Spanish musical theater, as his parents were both performers of zarzuela, a traditional form of Spanish lyric drama. When he was eight years old, his family relocated to Mexico, where he grew up working within his parents' zarzuela company. This early immersion in performance provided him with a foundational education in music and stagecraft, and he went on to study at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. He made his professional debut as a baritone in a zarzuela production before eventually transitioning to the tenor repertoire, a shift that would define the early arc of his legendary career.

Domingo's international breakthrough came in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he began performing at the world's most prestigious opera houses. He quickly earned a reputation for extraordinary versatility, performing fluently in Italian, French, German, Spanish, English, and Russian. Although he began primarily as a lirico-spinto tenor, he became especially celebrated for his portrayals of Cavaradossi, Hoffmann, Don José, and Canio. Over time, he moved into heavier dramatic roles, and his interpretation of Otello became widely regarded as the definitive performance of his generation. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas, a feat unmatched by few artists in recorded history.

Beyond the traditional opera stage, Domingo achieved remarkable crossover success. His first pop album, Perhaps Love, released in 1981, spread his fame far beyond the classical music world. The title track, a duet with country and folk singer John Denver, sold nearly four million copies and led to numerous television appearances. He also starred in several cinematically released and televised opera films, particularly under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli. In 1990, he joined fellow tenors Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras to form The Three Tenors. Their first recording together became the best-selling classical album of all time, introducing opera to millions of new listeners worldwide.

Throughout his career, Domingo has been a tireless advocate for zarzuela, regularly promoting the Spanish art form that shaped his childhood. He has also expanded his role within the opera world as a conductor and arts administrator. He served as artistic director and later general director of the Washington National Opera from 1996 to 2011, and as general director of the Los Angeles Opera from 2003 to 2019. In the early 2010s, he made a remarkable transition from the tenor repertoire into exclusively baritone parts, including the title role in Simon Boccanegra, demonstrating a vocal longevity that is virtually unprecedented in the history of opera. As of 2020, he had performed 151 different roles.

Domingo's contributions to music have been recognized with fourteen Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, and several of his recordings have achieved silver, gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status. He has also been deeply involved in humanitarian efforts and in nurturing young talent, notably through Operalia, the international singing competition he founded and continues to run. Since 2019, he has remained active on stage, performing continuously in major cities including Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Graz, Madrid, Mérida, Milan, Monte Carlo, Moscow, Munich, Palermo, Rome, Salzburg, Sofia, Verona, Versailles, Vienna, and Zurich. His enduring presence on the world's great stages stands as a testament to a career of extraordinary range, discipline, and artistic dedication.