Placido Domingo Goes Old Spanish Pop With Album

Domingo is currently playing Ottoman emperor Bajazet in Handel`s opera Tamerlano.

Placido Domingo recorded his new album of popular Spanish songs because they reminded the singer of his homeland when he lived in Mexico as a child and young man.

"When I arrived in Mexico I saw the films of Imperio Argentina, Concha Piquer, Juanita Reina," Domingo, 67, told reporters in Madrid.

"They brought back memories. Back then, in the 1950s and 60s, everyone knew those songs."

His childhood favorites like Ojos Verdes (Green Eyes), La Bien Paga (Good Wins Through) and Suspiros de Espana (Spanish Sighs) all appear on Domingo's latest album which is titled Spanish Passion.

Domingo -- who won widespread fame as one of The Three Tenors who marked the start of the 1990 soccer World Cup -- recorded his latest album with the ORCAM Madrid orchestra, while Spanish entertainer and musician Emilio Aragon worked on the musical arrangements.

Domingo is currently playing Ottoman emperor Bajazet in Handel's opera Tamerlano. The production is set to tour the United States, including performances at the Washington National Opera, where Domingo is the general director.

The opera star, voted the best all-time tenor in a recent BBC survey, said he may sing some Spanish popular songs while on tour in the U.S.

Domingo said he has no plans for retirement:

"It may be that I have done it all already. But I can have more aspirations," he said. "The public keeps asking me to sing."