Havana’s grand Great Theatre has amazing architecture

Havana is a special city in which anything can happen.

On Thursday, 24 November 2016, Rocío’s and my first full day in Cuba, we were walking along Paseo del Prado, the border between Old Havana and Centro Havana. Coming to the Great Theatre (Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso), we saw a crowd near the entrance. Just as we get there, modern Mercedes Benz sedans (a rarity in Cuba) arrive and out step opera singer Plácido Domingo and wife Marta Domingo.

Plácido Domingo and wife Marta Domingo get out in front of Havana’s Great Theatre

Even as a non-opera fan, I knew who Plácido Domingo was. As part of The Three Tenors, Domingo, along with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, was massive in the 1990s. Domingo’s appearance got Rocío excited.

A man in red keeps media and onlookers from mobbing Plácido and Marta Domingo

This was Domingo’s first official visit to Cuba although he had visited as a teenager. He was due to perform a concert Saturday at the Great Theatre.

Plácido Domingo surrounded by media and onlookers

When we told our Havana hosts we had seen Domingo, they mentioned that no concert tickets were available to locals, bringing some resentment.

Domingo entering the theatre building

The issue of tickets became moot as the night before the concert, a far bigger event occurred: Fidel Castro’s death. With Fidel’s passing, Plácido Domingo’s concert, like all entertainment in Cuba, was either cancelled or postponed until after the 9 day official mourning period.

A video I shot of Plácido Domingo’s arrival: