Over the course of decades , he has sung in numerous '' Live from the Metropolitan Opera '' telecasts and Met radio broadcasts . He has also appeared often in televised performances from other opera houses . In 1978 , he starred in the La Scala production of Puccini 's '' Manon Lescaut '' that marked the house debut of Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass . In addition , many of his concerts and zarzuela evenings have been televised . Beyond his filmed opera and concert performances , he has frequently made guest appearances on television . Domingo appeared on '' The Cosby Show '' Season 5 as Alberto Santiago , a colleague of Dr. Cliff Huxtable . In 1989 , the international television series '' Return Journey '' featured Domingo returning to his home city of Madrid reflecting on life there whilst recording an album of Zarzuela arias for EMI . On the 1993 Academy Awards telecast , he performed the song , " Beautiful Maria of My Soul , " from the movie '' The Mambo Kings '' , which had received a nomination for Best Original Song . The tenor was the first Spaniard to perform at an Academy Awards ceremony . He had previously presented the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with Faye Dunaway at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985
1993 Academy Awards
65th Academy Awards
Plácido Domingo