Laudatio of Tamás Lakner, dean of the Music and Visual Arts:
"As the dean of the Faculty of Music and Visual Arts, and particularly as a musician, it is a great honor for me, to have the chance to greet in person, and to write an appreciation of one of the most remarkable musicians of our times.
According to the Doctoral Regulations of the University of Pécs, my task is to prove the eligibility of our Candidate for the title “Doctor Honoris Causa”.
Should I go into details, when introducing the life-work of Plácido Domingo, who conquered the world over fifty years ago, and has kept us in fever of excitement with his voice, fierce passion, love of music and men, incomparable personality and artistic qualities, ever since?
Obviously, we can illustrate his achievements with numbers as follows – the hundred and fifty roles he has sung and acted, in thirty-seven-hundred opera-performances. Or we may mention the five-hundred concerts where he held the conductor’s baton, or, why not, the over one hundred recordings… But I’m convinced, that all these together, still do not truly mirror the input Maestro Domingo has made on the music of our times. He is often called, justly, the “King of Opera” also in the world-press.
Every evening he slips into somebody else’s skin, and still remains himself. His vast musical talent is shown, from this point of view as well.
Maestro Domingo gives us a never-fading example on philanthropy, charity and humanitarian aid, too. It is enough to mention just a few occasions: the nineteen-eighty-five earthquake in Mexico or the reconstructing and rebuilding works after the twenty-o-six Katrina hurricane in New Orleans. His motto was and still is: “Music is the voice of hope”.
Besides building his own career, Maestro Domingo pays a special attention to the promotion of young and talented artists, passing his superb knowledge, and great experiences to the upcoming generations. Actually, this is the main task of all universities! He has founded the international singing competition “Operalia”, where our former and present students regularly take part.
An integral and important part of our educational mission is to present a genuine example, showing up the oeuvre of the best artists. The University of Pécs, conferring an honorary degree on Maestro Plácido Domingo, will be enriched with an example of exceptional, multifaceted artist of the highest standard, and excellence.
The one, who can pass the splendid experience of working together with Maestro Domingo to our students directly, is already with us: Tokody Ilona, our honorary professor, decorated with Kossuth Award – as they have performed together in the most renowned opera houses of the world, several times, in unforgettable opera-projects.
Besides Professor Tokody, Maestro Domingo has stepped on stage together with other excellent Hungarian artists, performing the music of our composers, such as Erkel Ferenc, or Lehár Ferenc as well. He has received many awards and honors for his achievements in the field of music, charity and, particularly, cultural relations – including the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, Commander’s Cross.
Based on the former, on behalf of the Doctorate Senate of the University of Pécs, we wish to pay tribute to Maestro Plácido Domingo through conferring an honorary doctorate on him."
Acceptance speech:
"It is a privilege for me to stand here today and to be honored by this great, historic institution. I am keenly aware not only of the importance of the University of Pécs in Hungary’s academic and cultural history, but also of the city’s motto – “The Borderless City” – and its reputation as a place of ethnic and religious tolerance. This is more and more important in today’s world, when we see so much ethnic and religious intolerance. Ideally, Pécs’s motto should be the motto of every city in the world.
I first visited Hungary in 1973, and throughout my career I have worked with outstanding Hungarian artists in the world of opera: the conductor Sir Georg Solti and the singers Eva Marton, Gabor Carelli, László Polgár, Andrea Rost, Sylvia Sass, Júlia Várady, and Ilona Tokody. Tibor Rudas was the impresario who organized the Three Tenors concerts, and my assistant Nicholas Zoltán Marko, has worked with me for over thirty years are also Hungarians. I hardly need to say that I have great love and respect for the music of Hungarian composers – Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Franz Liszt, Franz Lehár, and Ferenc Erkel, among others. Not to mention the fact that as a passionate fan of the Real Madrid football team, in the city where I was born, I was a great admirer of Ferenc Puskás, who was one of our star players for many years.
In recent years I have come to feel a special gratitude toward Hungary and have become familiar not only with Budapest but also with Pécs. In 2009, the year before Pécs became the European Cultural Capital, my OPERALIA World Opera Competition held its quarter-finals and semi-finals here and its finals in Budapest. Each year, OPERALIA is held in different world cities – London, Madrid, Milan, Beijing, and so on – and it was wonderful to be able to bring it to Budapest and Pécs as well. I have also had the privilege of performing in both cities many times in the past years.
As a singer, conductor, and administrator, it is my privilege and my responsibility to help the wonderful art of opera, which is now over 400 years old, to as many people around the world as possible. Similarly, as president of Europa Nostra, a citizens’ movement for the safeguarding of Europe’s cultural and natural heritage, I am particularly aware of the importance of cities like Pécs, which preserve so much of what is valuable and important in the history of this continent. And I repeat: the motto of “Borderless City” should be a model around the world.
So it is with a mixture of pride and humility that I gladly accept today the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the great, historic University of Pécs, and I thank everyone involved for having conferred this honor on me."