José Carreras

Josep Maria Carreras Coll(Catalan:[ʒuˈzɛbməˈɾi.əkəˈreɾəsˈkɔʎ];born 5 December 1946), better known asJosé Carreras(/kəˈrɛərəs/,Spanish:[xoˈsekaˈreɾas]), is aCatalanoperatictenorfrom Spain who is particularly known for his performances in theoperasofDonizetti,VerdiandPuccini.
Born inBarcelona, he made his debut on the operatic stage at 11 as Trujamán inManuel de Falla'sEl retablo de Maese Pedro, and went on to a career that encompassed over 60 roles, performing in the world's leading opera houses and on numerous recordings. He gained fame with a wider audience as one ofthe Three Tenors, withPlácido DomingoandLuciano Pavarotti, in a series of large concerts from 1990 to 2003.He is also known for hishumanitarianwork as president of theJosé Carreras International LeukaemiaFoundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988.
Carreras was born inSants, a working-class district inBarcelona. He was the youngest of Antònia Coll i Saigi and Josep Carreras i Soler's three children.In 1951, his family emigrated toArgentinain search of a better life. However, this move abroad proved unsuccessful, and within a year they had returned to Sants where Carreras was to spend the rest of his childhood and teenage years.
He showed an early talent for music and particularly singing, which intensified at the age of six when he sawMario LanzainThe Great Caruso.The story recounted in his autobiography and numerous interviews is that after seeing the film, Carreras sang the arias incessantly to his family, especially "La donna è mobile", often locking himself in the family's bathroom when they became exasperated with his impromptu concerts.At that point, his parents, with the encouragement of his grandfather Salvador Coll, an amateur baritone, found the money for music lessons for him. At first he studied piano and voice with Magda Prunera, the mother of one of his childhood friends, and at the age of eight, he also started taking music lessons at Barcelona's Municipal Conservatory.
At just eight years old, he also gave his first public performance, singing "La donna è mobile", accompanied by Magda Prunera on the piano, on Spanish National Radio. A recording of this still exists and can be heard on the video biography,José Carreras – A Life Story.On 3 January 1958, at the age of eleven, he made his debut in Barcelona's great opera house, theGran Teatre del Liceu, singing the boy soprano role of Trujamán inManuel de Falla'sEl retablo de Maese Pedro. A few months later, he sang for the last time as aboy sopranoat the Liceu in the second act ofLa Bohème.
Throughout his teenage years, he continued to study music, moving on to theConservatori Superior de Música del Liceuand taking private voice lessons, first with Francisco Puig and later with Juan Ruax, whom Carreras has described as his "artistic father". Following the advice of his father and brother, who felt that he needed a "backup" career, he also entered theUniversity of Barcelonato study chemistry, but after two years he left the university to concentrate on singing.
Juan Ruax encouraged Carreras to audition for what was to become his first tenor role at the Liceu, Flavio inNorma, which opened on 8 January 1970. Although only a minor role, the few phrases he sang caught the attention of the production's leading lady, the eminent soprano and fellowCatalan,Montserrat Caballé. She asked him to sing Gennaro with her inDonizetti'sLucrezia Borgia, which opened on 19 December 1970. It was his first principal adult role, and the one which he considers to be his true debut as a tenor. In 1971, he made his international debut in a concert performance ofMaria Stuardain London'sRoyal Festival Hall, again with Caballé singing the title role. Caballé was instrumental in promoting and encouraging his career for many years, appearing in over fifteen different operas with him, while her brother and manager, Carlos Caballé, was also Carreras's manager until the mid-1990s.
During the 1970s Carreras's career progressed rapidly. In late-1971, he won first prize inParma's prestigious Voci Verdiane competition which led to his Italian debut as Rodolfo inLa bohèmeat theTeatro Regio di Parmaon 12 January 1972. Later that year he made his American debut as Pinkerton inMadama Butterflywith theNew York City Opera. Other major house debuts followed – theSan Francisco Operain 1973, as Rodolfo; thePhiladelphia Lyric Opera Companyin 1973, as Alfredo inLa traviata; theVienna Staatsoperin 1974, as the Duke of Mantua inRigoletto; London'sRoyal Opera Housein 1974, as Alfredo; the New YorkMetropolitan Operain 1974, as Cavaradossi inTosca; andLa Scala, Milan in 1975, as Riccardo inUn ballo in maschera. By the age of 28, he had already sung the tenor lead in 24 different operas in both Europe and North America, and had an exclusive recording contract withPhilips, which resulted in valuable recordings of several less often performed Verdi operas, notablyIl Corsaro,I due Foscari,La battaglia di Legnano,Un giorno di regnoandStiffelio.
Carreras's leading ladies during the 1970s and 1980s included some of the most famoussopranosandmezzo-sopranosof the day:Montserrat Caballé,Birgit Nilsson,Viorica Cortez,Renata Scotto,Ileana Cotrubaş,Sylvia Sass,Teresa Stratas, DameKiri Te Kanawa,Frederica von Stade,Agnes Baltsa,Teresa Berganza, andKatia Ricciarelli. His artistic partnership with Ricciarelli began when they both sang in the 1972La bohèmeat Parma and lasted for thirteen years, both in the recording studio and on stage. They later made a studio recording ofLa bohèmeforPhilips Classicsand can be heard together on over 12 other commercial recordings of both operas and recitals, predominantly on the Philips andDeutsche Grammophonlabels.
Of the many conductors he worked with during this period, the one with whom Carreras had the closest artistic relationship and who had the most profound influence on his career wasHerbert von Karajan.He first sang under Karajan in theVerdi RequiematSalzburgon 10 April 1976, with their final collaboration in a 1986 production ofCarmen, again at Salzburg. With Karajan's encouragement, he increasingly moved towards singing heavierlirico-spintoroles, includingAida,Don Carlos, andCarmen, which some critics have said were too heavy for his natural voice and may have shortened his vocal prime. (See the section on Carreras'svoice.)
The 1980s saw Carreras occasionally moving outside the strictly operatic repertoire, at least in the recording studio, with recitals of songs fromzarzuela,musicalsandoperettas. He also made full-length recordings of two musicals –West Side Story(1985) andSouth Pacific(1986) – both withKiri Te Kanawaas his co-star. The recording ofWest Side Storywas unusual in two respects: Carreras was chosen and conducted byLeonard Bernstein. Bernstein was conducting for the first time nearly 30 years after he composed the music, anda full-length documentarywas made about the recording sessions. In a now-viral clip, the star tenor had problems with the syncopated rhythms and elocution in his solo onSomething's Comingand was relentlessly corrected by Bernstein.His 1987 Philips recording of the Argentine folk mass,Misa Criolla, conducted by its composer,Ariel Ramírez, brought the work to a worldwide audience. Although many of Carreras's stage performances are available on video, he also ventured into film. In 1986, he portrayed the 19th century Spanish tenorJulián GayarreinRomanza Final(The Final Romance) and in 1987, he started working on a film version ofLa bohèmedirected byLuigi Comencini.
It was during the filming ofLa bohèmeinParisthat he was found to be suffering fromacute lymphoblastic leukemiaand given a 1 in 10 chance of survival. However, he recovered from the disease after undergoing a gruelling treatment involvingchemotherapy,radiation therapyand anautologous bone marrow transplantat theFred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterinSeattle. Following his recovery, he gradually returned to both the operatic and the concert stage, embarking on a tour of come-back recitals in 1988 and 1989 and singing with Montserrat Caballé inMedea(Mérida, Spain 1989) and in the world premiere ofBalada'sCristóbal Colón(Barcelona, 1989).
The 1990s continued to see Carreras performing on the operatic stage inCarmenandFedoraand making role debuts inSamson et Dalila(Peralada, 1990),Verdi'sStiffelio(London, 1993), andWolf-Ferrari'sSly(Zurich, 1998). However, his opera performances became less frequent as he increasingly devoted himself to concerts and recitals. His final operatic performances at theGran Teatre del Liceu, the opera house where his career began, were inSamson et Dalila(March 2001). He reprised the title role inSlyin Tokyo in 2002 and in 2004 performed at theVienna State Operain fully staged versions of the final act ofCarmenand Act 3 ofSly. In April 2014, Carreras returned to the opera stage after a ten-year absence singing the title role of Christian Kolonovits's opera,El Juez(The Judge) in its premiere at the Arriaga Theatre inBilbao. He reprised the role in August 2014 at the Festival Erl in Austria and in January 2015 at theMariinsky Theatrein St. Petersburg.
In 1990 the firstThree Tenorsconcert took place in theBaths of Caracallain Rome on the eve of the 1990FIFA World Cupfinals. It was originally conceived to raise money for Carreras's leukemia foundation and as a way for his colleagues,Plácido DomingoandLuciano Pavarotti, to welcome their "little brother" back to the world of opera. However, it and the subsequent Three Tenors concerts brought Carreras a fame that went far beyond the opera house. It is estimated that over a billion people around the world watched the television broadcast of the 1994 Three Tenors concert in Los Angeles.By 1999, the CD from the first Three Tenors concert in Rome had sold an estimated 13 million copies, making it the best-selling classical recording of all time.Carreras is the center of a subplot in the 1996 episode "The Doll" in theSeinfeldtelevision series, in which he is never referred to by name but instead as "the other guy" in the Three Tenors; he is erroneously referred to as being Italian (perhaps intentionally). The early 1990s also saw Carreras serving as the Musical Director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1992 BarcelonaOlympic Games, and performing in a worldwide concert tour in tribute to his first singing hero,Mario Lanza.
By the 2000s Carreras's recording and live concert repertoire had moved largely toart song,Neapolitan songs, the light classical genre, and 'easy-listening'.He has also increasingly performed and recorded with artists from outside the classical music world, such asDiana Ross,Edyta Górniak,Lluís Llach,Peter Maffay,Udo Jürgens,Klaus Meine,Charles Aznavour,Kim Styles,Sarah Brightman,Vicky Leandros,Jackie Evancho,Sissel Kyrkjebø,Debbie Harry,Majida El Roumi, andGiorgia Fumanti. Beginning in 2002, Carreras scaled back his live performances to recitals and orchestral concerts.
In an interview published inThe Timeson 8 May 2009, Carreras announced that he would no longer perform principal opera roles but was still open to recitals.
Following his own recovery fromleukaemia, Carreras sought both to repay the debt he owed to medical science and to improve the lives and care of other leukaemia sufferers. On 14 July 1988, he established the Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia (known in English as the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation)inBarcelona. The foundation, which publishes a tri-monthly magazine on its activities,Amigos de la Fundación, concentrates its efforts in four main areas:
The José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation also has affiliates in the U.S., Switzerland, and Germany, with the German affiliate the most active of the three. Since 1995, Carreras has presented an annual live television benefit gala inLeipzigto raise funds for the foundation's work in Germany. Since its inception, the gala alone has raised well over€71 million. Carreras also performs at least 20 charity concerts a year in aid of his foundation and other medical related charities. He is an Honorary Member of the European Society for Medicine and the European Haematology Association, an Honorary Patron of the European Society for Medical Oncology, and a Goodwill Ambassador forUNESCO.
Carreras has received numerous awards and distinctions for both his artistic and humanitarian work. These include: Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most ExaltedOrder of the White Elephantof Thailand (2019); Commander of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettresand Chevalier of theLégion d'honneur(France); Knight Grand Cross andGrand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic(20 May 1996 and 3 April 1991, respectively);Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria(1999); the Cruz de Oro del Orden Civil de la Solidaridad Social fromQueen Sofia of Spain, thePrince of Asturias Prizefor Art (joint winner, 1991), theGrand Cross of Meritfrom the Federal Republic of Germany and theGold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia(June 1984).
Carreras has received theBavarian Order of Merit, theSteiger Award(2006) and the St. George Order of theSemperoper(Dresden, 2010).
Honorary Medal of the city ofLeipzigon the occasion of his Leukemia Fundraiser for 2009 on 17 December 2009; awarded by the Mayor of Leipzig (unanimous decision of the town council of Leipzig).
In 1993 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters fromLoughborough University.
On 23 February 2004, the Austrian Post Office issued a 1€stamp to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut at theVienna Staatsoper.
In 2004, he received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.
In 2009, he received theBrit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
He has Honorary Doctorates from theUniversity of BarcelonaandMiguel Hernández University(Spain);Napier,LoughboroughandSheffielduniversities (United Kingdom); theMendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology(Russia); theUniversity of Camerino(Italy);Rutgers University(United States); theUniversity of Coimbra(Portugal); theNational University of Music Bucharest(Romania);Philipps-Universität Marburg(Germany, 3 May 2006);University of Saarland(2012); theUniversity of Pécs(Hungary) and most recently,Kyunghee University(Korea) and theUniversity of Porto(Portugal).
In Spain the central plaza inSant Joan d'Alacantbears his name, as do two theatres – the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca (nearTarragona) and The Teatro Josep Carreras inFuenlabrada.
Throughout his childhood in Barcelona, Carreras's father, Josep Carreras i Soler, worked as a traffic policeman. He had originally been a French teacher. However, he had fought on the Republican side during theSpanish Civil War, and when theFrancogovernment came into power in 1939, he was no longer allowed to teach. His mother, Antonia Coll i Saigi, ran a small hair-dressing salon, where, as a child, Carreras often sang to the customers in return for pocket money. He was very close to his mother, who was convinced that he would one day be a great singer, and her death from cancer when he was 18 affected him greatly.InJosé Carreras: A Life Story, he said that "even now, every time I go on stage, I always, always, have a quick thought for her."In 1971 Carreras married Mercedes Pérez. They had two children: a son, Albert (born in 1972), and a daughter, Julia (born in 1978). The marriage ended in divorce in 1992. In 2006, Carreras married Jutta Jäger, but separated from her in 2011.Carreras's nephew,David Giménez Carreras, is a conductor and Director of theOrquestra Simfònica del Vallès.He has conducted many of Carreras's concerts since the late 1990s as well as his opera performances inSlyat the Gran Teatre del Liceu in June 2000.
In its prime, Carreras's voice was considered one of the most beautifultenorvoices of the day.The Spanish critic, Fernando Fraga has described it as alyric tenorwith the generosity of aspinto, having "a nobletimbre, richly coloured and sumptuously resonant". This is particularly true of the middlerangeof his voice. Fraga also noted, as has Carreras himself, that even in his youth the high notes of the tenor range were always somewhat problematic for him, and became more so as his career progressed.Like his idol,Giuseppe di Stefano, Carreras was also known for the beauty and expressiveness of his phrasing and for his passionate delivery.These qualities are perhaps best exemplified in his 1976 recording ofToscawithMontserrat Caballéin the title role and conducted bySir Colin Davis.
According to several criticshis assumption of the heavier spinto roles such asAndrea Chénier, Don José inCarmen,Don Carlo, and Alvaro inLa forza del destinoput a strain on his naturally lyric instrument which may have caused the voice to prematurely darken and lose some of its bloom. Nevertheless, he produced some of his finest performances in those roles.
TheDaily Telegraphwrote of his 1984Andrea Chénierat London'sRoyal Opera House: "Switching effortlessly from the lyric poet Rodolfo inLa Bohèmea few weeks ago to the heroic poet Chenier, the Spanish tenor's vocal artistry held us spellbound throughout."Of his 1985 performance inAndrea ChénieratLa Scala(preserved on DVD), Carl Battaglia wrote inOpera Newsthat Carreras dominated the opera "with formidable concentration and a cleverly refined vocal accent that imparts to this spinto role an overlay of intensity lacking in his essentially lyric tenor."However, Carl H. Hiller's review of the La Scala performance inOperaalso noted that while in the quiet phrases of the score "he could display all the tonal mellowness of which this perhaps most beautiful tenor voice of our time is capable", he had difficulty with the high loud notes, which sounded strained and uneasily produced.
This list is a representative selection of notable commercial recordings from the peak years of José Carreras's career. He has an extremely large discography and videography, which also includes many performances preserved on private recordings.