\u201cI just played with the Oregon Symphony and my next performance is with the Vancouver Symphony,\u201d the ever-cheerful and optimistic Spaniard says. \u201cI played three nights, and this is the third time I\u2019ve played with the symphony; I have a very good relationship with them. We played the Alb<\/i>\u00e9niz Concerto<\/i> by Stephen Goss, and Steve came all the way to be part of the performances, and he gave a pre-talk. It went very<\/i> well. It was the first time I played it and it was beautiful and memorable. I think the audience really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time in Oregon, we played John Corigliano\u2019s Troubadours <\/i>[Variations for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra<\/i>, 1993]; this time it was the Alb\u00e9niz Concerto<\/i>. I am always open to new pieces and new commissions. That\u2019s part of the responsibility I have as a musician: supporting new creations for the guitar and bringing new repertoire to different audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which is not to say that he is about to stop playing Rodrigo\u2019s Concierto de Aranjuez<\/i> all over the world. \u201cI love playing the Aranjuez<\/i>; it\u2019s the piece I play the most,\u201d he says. \u201cI never get tired of it, because it is so well-written, with so many layers to explore every time I play it. It\u2019s a constant process of discovery for me. At the same time, it\u2019s nice to introduce other pieces to the presenters and to symphonies. I\u2019ve premiered a few guitar concertos, including one by S\u00e9rgio\u00a0Assad\u2014the Concerto Popular do Rio<\/i> [2013]\u2014and I think it\u2019s important to support living composers, to bring new music and the [classical] guitar to the next generation and add something new to the repertoire.\u201d<\/p>\n
A couple of weeks before our phone interview, I had seen Villegas play a superb solo concert in San Francisco\u2019s historic Herbst Theatre. That night, after winning over the adoring audience with a program celebrating the 125th birthday of Segovia (pieces by Villa-Lobos, T\u00e1rrega, Granados, Alb\u00e9niz, et al), the guitarist went directly from the stage to a waiting car to take him to the San Francisco Airport so he could take a late-night flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, where the following night he would perform a concert at a sold-out soccer stadium with the legendary Spanish opera singer Pl\u00e1cido Domingo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, it is that duo\u2019s wonderful recent album for Sony Classical, called Volver<\/i>, that is the main reason for our interview. It is the first recording Domingo has made with a guitarist, and the first time Villegas has worked with a baritone. It consists of 12 pieces\u2014nine duet songs (occasionally augmented with tasteful orchestrations played by the Florida Philharmonic, under the baton of Argentinian pianist, conductor, and composer Nazareno Andorno), and three solo guitar pieces featuring Villegas alone: Barrios\u2019 gorgeous tremolo workout Una limosna por el amor de dios<\/i>, a lilting version of the much-loved Cuban folk tune Guantanamera<\/i>, and a new S\u00e9rgio Assad piece called Valeria\u2019s Bossa<\/i> (named after Pablo\u2019s wife, Valeria Cat\u00e1n). Assad is credited with the guitar arrangements on the album, and they are all sophisticated, imaginative, and, on the vocal numbers, perfectly complementary with Domingo\u2019s style and range. It\u2019s a fantastic album that should delight fans of both artists.<\/p>\n CLASSICAL GUITAR:<\/b> I\u2019m impressed that Pl\u00e1cido is popular enough to play in a stadium in Guadalajara.<\/p>\n PABLO VILLEGAS:<\/b>\u00a0Yes, well, Pl\u00e1cido Domingo is such a popular and inspiring figure. I think he might be the only classical musician who can fill up a stadium. What makes him so great is many things, but one of the most important for me is his humanity<\/i>. He\u2019s so humble and also so tender. When he\u2019s onstage he\u2019s able to communicate all that to the audience, and that transforms people when they hear him. Even in a soccer stadium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the amount of work he can handle: He\u2019s so passionate about what he does that he\u2019s constantly immersed in different projects. Of course, he does operas all the time now, as a baritone. [He originally was a tenor.] He conducts operas and symphonic works, and he also does these galas and projects where he collaborates with musicians from the pop and folk traditions, and he creates all these wonderful experiences for everyone. It\u2019s a beautiful way to introduce opera to some people, too, because he also sings famous arias in the stadiums. He really believes in the power of music, and that music is for all.<\/p>\n CG:<\/b> I think the first time I was aware of you playing with him was when you sang Adios Granada<\/i> [a highlight of the album] with him at a stadium in Madrid in 2016. Was that the first time you performed with him? How did that come about?<\/p>\n VILLEGAS:<\/b> Yes. He knew about me. And living in New York [where Pablo also has a part-time residence], he had attended a performance I did with the New York Philharmonic, where I was playing La Vida Breve<\/i> by Falla. Later I met two of his sons who live in New York City on different occasions. Also, my wife, Valeria, has an uncle who was an opera composer\u2014Daniel Cat\u00e1n [1949\u20132011]\u2014and he composed an opera called Il Postino<\/i> that Pl\u00e1cido Domingo had sung a lot. That was prior to our meeting him, so it\u2019s magical how things aligned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, we ended up meeting and then there was this concert at the Real Madrid soccer stadium, and many artists who play different styles of music were going to be invited. A month before the date, he called me up and said, \u201cPablo, I think this would be a beautiful opportunity to collaborate. I was thinking about us doing something together.\u201d That day was the first time I played with Pl\u00e1cido and, of course, the first time I played in a stadium in front of 85,000 people! I couldn\u2019t believe it. \u201cIs this real?\u201d<\/p>\n The following day he called my manager and said, \u201cI want to record my next album with Pablo.\u201d I thought, \u201cWow, really<\/i>?\u201d I didn\u2019t think it could get better than doing the concert! And that\u2019s really when my friendship with him started. It went from a professional relationship to more of a personal one, and it\u2019s been beautiful. So, first there was the process of brainstorming and figuring out the concept and what we would record together.<\/p>\n CG:<\/b> What was that process like?<\/p>\n VILLEGAS:<\/b>\u00a0At the beginning, one of the things Pl\u00e1cido and I talked about was how the guitar is the instrument of the people, and the instrument to sing songs. So, it was a matter of going back to that nature of the instrument. There is so much repertoire written for the guitar and the voice, so why don\u2019t we explore that?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was also a way to unify the Latino and Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries through the guitar. The guitar comes from Spain, but it goes through the Americas, as well. It was going to the roots to find the songs that were, first, natural for the voice and guitar, and then were also an important part of Pl\u00e1cido\u2019s history. All of those songs meant something special to him. I remember being with him while he was sitting at the piano, and he would just start singing, accompanying himself on piano, and the songs that came to his mind\u2014he has a fantastic memory, so he would remember all the lyrics the first time playing it! He\u2019d say, \u201cThis is a song my mom used to sing when I was a boy.\u201d Or, \u201cThis is a song I remember from one day the whole family was together and this happened . . .\u201d So, all the songs had an emotional connection to his life. And a few of them were songs he\u2019d sung before and even recorded.<\/p>\n