Jose Carreras

<< Back

Edit Mode: Jose Carreras

Email *

If we need to contact you, we will contact you on this email.

Full Name *

Your name please so that we can credit your work.

Main Text *

Early Years

<a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José Carreras</a> was born <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">Josep Maria i Coll</a> on December 5, 1946 in on the Mediterranean coast in Barcelona, Spain. <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">Jos&e</a>acute;’s love for singing began when he was just a young <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">boy</a>. <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> wrote in his autobiography that when he was just six years old he saw the film entitled “The Great Caurso” starring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lanza">Mario Lanza</a>, the American tenor and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lanza">film star</a>. Carreras recalls being so inspired by the performance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lanza">Lanza</a> that he began learning and singing arias on his own. Following this passion allowed him to sing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Verdi">Giuseppi Verdi</a>’s “Le donna e mobile” on national radio at the tender age of seven. At the encouragement of his Grandfather, Salvador Coll, an amateur baritone, <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> began developing his talents at the Barcelona Conservatory, where he enrolled at the age of eight. <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> made his operatic stage debut at the age of eleven when he sang the boy soprano role of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trujamán">Trujaman</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_de_Falla">Manuel de Falla</a>’s opera “El retablo de maese Pedro”(Master Peter’s Puppet Show), a one act libretto based on “Don Quixote”.

Throughout his teen years, <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> took private voice lessons with Francisco Puig and also with the man whom Carreras would later describe as his “artistic father”, Juan Ruax. Despite his natural ability and early success Carreras’ father felt that <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> should have another option for a career and encouraged him to attend university. <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> obliged his father for two years, studying chemistry at the University of Barcelona. But Carreras knew his true calling and left the university to concentrate on his singing. Carreras was cast in a production of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Bellini">Vincenzo Bellini</a>’s “Norma” at the Barcelona Liceo in 1970 and it was at that time that he met the opera star, soprano <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caballé">Montserrat Caballé</a>, who took an interest in Carreras and helped him further his career.

Career

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caballé">Caballé</a> asked <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> to sing Gennaro with her in the 1970 production of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Donizetti">Donizetti</a>’s “Lucrezia Borgia”. Carreras considers this performance to be his true debut as a tenor. It was not long before Carreras would take the international stage and in 1971 he did a concert performance on “Maria Stuarda” at the Royal Festival Hall in London; appearing again with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caballé">Montserrat Caballé</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caballé">Caballé</a> encouraged <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">José</a> for many years and they performed in fifteen operas together. Carlos Caballé, Montserrat’s brother, became Carreras manager and held the role well into the 1990’s. Carreras’ career moved quickly along and by the mid-1970’s he was an internationally acclaimed <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">tenor</a>. Carreras made his American debut in 1972 when he took the role of Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” with the New York City opera. There were other debuts to follow- the San Francisco Opera in 1973 and the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company later that same year. In 1974 Carreras performed at  the Vienna Staatsoper, the Royal Opera House in London, and the New York Metropolitan Opera. By the time he was twenty eight Carreras had sung the tenor lead in twenty four different operas in both Europe and North America. At this time Carreras also signed a contract with Philips who recorded Carreras in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Verdi">Verdi</a> operas “ll Corsaro”, “l due Foscari”, “La battaglia di Legnano”, “Un giorno di regno”, and “Stiffelio”.

In 1987 Carreras was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Although Carreras chances for survival were thin he underwent treatment that included chemotherapy, radiation therapy and an autologous bone marrow transplant; all in an effort to combat the deadly disease. Carreras did recover and gradually returned to the operatic stage.

[page-break]

In 1990 the first Three Tenors concert was held in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The idea for the concert was originally conceived as a way for Carreras long time colleagues, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plácido_Domingo">Placido Domingo</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciano_Pavarotti">Luciano Pavorotti</a> to help Carreras raise money for his leukemia foundation. But the concert generated so much enthusiasm that the three decided to perform regularly. The Three Tenors performed a world tour of concerts in 1996-1997; performing at Kasumigaoka Stadium in Tokyo, Wembley Stadium in London, Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna, Giants Stadium near New York City, Ullev Stadium in Gothenburg and many other prominent locations all over the world. The concerts were a huge commercial success and led the group to produce a series of recordings.

The CD of that original benefit concert in Rome ended up selling nearly thirteen million copies; which made it the all time best selling classical recording. In 1994, when the Three Tenors concert in Los Angeles was televised form Dodgers Stadium, over a billion people from all around the globe tuned in. The group is credited by many for introducing opera to a wider audience. Indeed, one of the trio’s recordings, “The Three Tenors in Concert”, holds the Guinness World Record for the best selling classical music album. But the tenors were not without their critics, many who complained that the tenors performed for money rather than art. Indeed, on their first worldwide tour, each tenor received a million dollars per concert, not the type of money usually paid to classical musicians. Carreras trivialized the criticism saying that they made very little in comparison to many athletes, pop singers and movie stars. The trio continued to produce record albums and perform until 2003.

Legacy

Carreras remains a popular performer but his career has shifted away from complex operatic roles. Carreras explained the transition in a 2013 interview: “You can do certain things when you’re younger, when your voice is full, but then you get older”.

After Carrreras’ own recovery from leukemia, he established the Fundacio Internacional <a href="/biography/jose-carreras">Josep Carreras</a> per a la Lluita contra la Leucémia(the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation)in Barcelona. The foundation works to develop clinical research into the cure and treatment of leukemia through research grants. Carreras has received many illustrious honors for his humanitarian work and holds honorary degrees from Universities all over the world. Carreras voice will always be considered one of the most beautiful tenor voices and has best been described as a lyric tenor with the generosity of a spinto and having “a noble timbre, richly coloured and sumptuously resonant”.

References

https://www.biography.com/people/jos%C3%A9-carreras-9239419

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Carreras

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Lanza

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_retablo_de_maese_Pedro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Tenors

Source *

Source you received the information from. eg. personal experiences, acquaintances, web-links, etc

Comment *

Briefly describe the changes you made.

Warning! All fields are required. Empty fields won't allow the form to be submitted and your changes will be lost.
Once the changes are submitted they cannot be edited again until your submission is reviewed.