Thursday October 27, 2005
Tenacious tenor
By JASON CHEAH
He is one of the greatest of living tenors, his rich lyrical style has been enjoyed by millions since he made his professional debut 35 years ago.
Now, even at the age of 58, Barcelona-born José Carreras doesn’t seem to be ready to retire, with his schedule as heavy as ever.
“Travelling around the world and sharing my music with others gives me enormous personal satisfaction and I still get a great thrill from performing,” said Carreras in an email interview when asked about what keeps him going.
Carreras began his professional career in his hometown in 1970, singing roles in the operas Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi) and Lucrezia Borgia (Gaetano Donizetti) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, but he was already singing in public when he was eight years old, as a boy soprano.
Coming to the attention of famed soprano Montserrat Caballe, his rise was considered meteoric, and by the age of 28, he had already sung the lead tenor roles in 24 different operas.
He made his debut at the famed Teatro alla Scala, Milan, in Verdi’s opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball), in 1975, and noted that performance as one of his most memorable moments, although he had his New York Metropolitan Opera, London Royal Opera and Vienna Staatsoper debuts the year before.
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José Carreras seen here performing in Hangzhou, China, on Oct 16. |
To date, Carreras has sung in more than 60 operas, and over the years Carreras feels that the audiences for opera have indeed grown, although he does feel that opera has moved too much towards the production side.
“(It) should go back to focusing on the music,” he added.
For Carreras, his performances in Verdi’s Don Carlos and Georges Bizet’s Carmen remain his favourites, and although he has scaled down his opera performances over the years, he maintains that he will continue to perform some opera.
“I am at present considering several offers.”
Carreras is now on an extensive two-month concert tour in Asia, and fans will be glad to know that Kuala Lumpur is included.
“I find Asia incredibly stimulating. The audience is extremely responsive and seems to grow all the time. For example, I have just been for three concerts in China, in cities outside Beijing and Shanghai and I have been amazed by the response.”
Carreras will be performing at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Nov 8, with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor David Gimenez.
In addition to his music, Carreras spends as much time with the International Leukaemia Foundation, which he founded in 1988.
At the height of his career in 1987, Carreras was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Doctors gave him a one in 10 chance of survival.
After almost a year of treatment including radiation, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant, he was able to resume his singing career.
“I am very dedicated to developing the work of my leukaemia foundation and I give a certain number of performances each year to help raise funds.
“Planning the work of the foundation is extremely important to me. I do, of course, continue to do an extensive number of performances. I’ve been very fortunate to perform over the years ... great roles in major venues with outstanding artistes,” he noted.
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One of his more recent recordings veers away from the operatic norm.
On Energia, released in early 2004, Carreras taps into the musical and cultural energies charging the songs of his Mediterranean homeland.
The album features a broad range of musical genres, including Catalan and Portuguese folk songs, contemporary chansons by Jacques Brel and compositions by Lluis Llach.
“I was very glad to make this recording and I’ve never been worried about recording a wider range of repertoire which from time to time will reach a larger audience.”
Carreras has also performed the leading role in several operatic films for television, cinema and video, as well as appeared in two movies; Romanza Final – a 1986 biographical drama in which he portrays the life of 19th Century Spanish tenor Julian Gayarre, and A Life Story – a report on Carreras’ own life and artistic career.
For fans worldwide, the Three Tenors concerts offered by Carreras with fellow Spanish-singing tenor Placido Domingo and Italian Luciano Pavarotti are now legendary.
In 1990, hundreds of millions of people around the world watched them give a concert at the football World Cup in Rome. The idea for the concert was originally conceived by Hungarian producer Tibor Rudas.
The first concert was held to raise money for Carreras’ foundation and also as a way for Domingo and Pavarotti to welcome their colleague back to the world of opera after his successful medical treatment.
They have returned to perform at every World Cup since, in addition to various other appearances and recordings.
As for next year’s World Cup in Germany, it has been reported that Domingo has expressed hope that the three could return once again to that stage.
Carreras isn’t giving anything away, though.
“This is under discussion,” he said.
José Carreras will perform with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor David Gimenez on Nov 8 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Tickets are priced at at RM280, RM380 and RM600. For details, call the box office (03-20517007).
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