In Wednesday’s (12/2) Los Angeles Times, Reed Johnson writes, “Last week, on one of his rare evenings not spent in makeup sweating under a spotlight, Plácido Domingo watched from a luxury box as the resurgent L.A. Lakers dusted off the New York Knicks 100-90 at Staples Center. Down on the floor, Domingo’s friend and fellow Spaniard, the power forward and center Pau Gasol, who was back in action after missing the Lakers’ first 11 games with a pulled hamstring, helped lift the home team with 11 points and 16 rebounds. The following night, it was Gasol’s turn to watch and applaud as he took in a performance of L.A. Opera’s production of Handel’s Orientalist fantasia, ‘Tamerlano.’ … After the final curtain fell, Gasol was whisked backstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, where he and Domingo embraced and chatted in their mother tongue for a few minutes, surrounded by a gaggle of flashing cameras and buzzing onlookers. … Angelenos are used to seeing power pairings of Hollywood celebs and aspiring politicians, brand-name architects and empire-building philanthropists … But the growing camaraderie between the 29-year-old athlete and the 68-year-old artist appears to be based less on star-power attraction than on simpatico sensibilities and mutual respect for the varied forms that professional excellence takes.”
Posted December 2, 2009
