MUMBAI - SPANISH tenor Placido Domingo is due to perform his first concert in India this weekend after singing at the world famous ancient Mayan site of Chichen Itza earlier this month.

But unlike in Mexico, where he sang in the Maya language and in Mariachi costume, the 67-year-old's programme at the Brabourne Stadium cricket ground in Mumbai on Saturday will stick to classical Western opera.

He told a news conference here on Thursday that he had wanted to come to India for many years, but it had not been possible because of his busy schedule of singing and conducting around the world.

The Indian conductor Zubin Mehta invited Domingo to Mumbai as part of a week-long series of concerts to celebrate the birth centenary of his father, Mehli Mehta, who did much to put Western classical music on the map in India.

'I didn't hesitate when Zubin asked me to come, even though the concert will be on my son's 40th birthday and his wife is expecting a baby. We'll celebrate later,' said Domingo, looking relaxed in an open-neck white shirt.

The tenor will sing extracts from operas like 'Carmen", 'Aida", 'Tosca' and 'La Traviata' and duets with Italian soprano Barbara Frittoli, accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mehta told the news conference at the plush Taj Mahal Hotel that the concert was almost sold-out. Ticket prices range from 200 to 5,000 rupees (S$6.16 to S$154). -- AFP