Plácido Domingo suspends performance after suffering pulmonary embolism

Tenor Plácido Domingo (Madrid, 1941) was admitted to the emergency room on Monday because of a pulmonary embolism resulting from venous thromboembolic disease, according to a statement issued by his representatives. Despite the severity of his condition, the same sources said that the medical intervention has been successful and that the 72-year-old singer is no longer in danger.

Nonetheless, doctors have ordered Domingo to remain "under supervision, with required rest and recovery for three to four weeks," according to the statement issued yesterday by the Teatro Real. "He is responding well to treatment. The exact date of his return will depend on how quickly he heals and regains his usual strength," a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Nonetheless, Domingo will have to cancel his participation in the five showings of the opera II Postino: The Postman by Daniel Catán, based in the work of Antonio Skármeta, set to premiere in Madrid on July 17. Since the reopening of the Teatro Real in 1997, he has participated almost every season.

He will also be unable to direct the Valencian Community Orchestra in Madrid's Plaza Mayor on July 21. The concert was intended to support the city's bid to host the 2020 Olympics.

Doctors have ordered Domingo to remain "under supervision"

The royal theater quickly announced that the opera will not be cancelled. Instead, the role of Pablo Neruda, which Domingo was supposed to play, will be interpreted by Vicente Ombuena. The Valencian singer already played the character in the same production at the Teatro Bellas Artes in Mexico and in Santiago, Chile.

Unfortunately, because of ticket sale laws beyond the Teatro Real’s control, money will not be returned to would-be viewers who have lost interest in this new, Domingo-less show.

Domingo arrived in Madrid on Friday and was in the theater until Saturday. On Monday, a relative announced that he felt ill and would not be attending rehearsals, but the severity of his condition was not clear at that time.

The singer had an operation in March 2010 to treat colon cancer. He was back in the public eye a month later, debuting in Milan's La Scala theater.