Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a
Catalan operatic
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
s of
Donizetti,
Verdi and
Puccini.
Born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, he made his debut on the operatic stage at 11 as Trujamán in
Manuel de Falla's ''
El 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 of
the Three Tenors, with
Plácido Domingo and
Luciano Pavarotti, in a series of large concerts from 1990 to 2003. He is also known for his
humanitarian work as president of the
José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988.
Life and career
Early years
Carreras was born in
Sants, a working-class district in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. He was the youngest of Antònia Coll i Saigi and Josep Carreras i Soler's three children. In 1951, his family emigrated to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in 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 saw
Mario Lanza in ''
The 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, the
Gran Teatre del Liceu, singing the boy soprano role of Trujamán in
Manuel de Falla's ''
El retablo de Maese Pedro''. A few months later, he sang for the last time as a
boy soprano at the Liceu in the second act of ''
La Bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
''.
Throughout his teenage years, he continued to study music, moving on to the
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu and 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 the
University of Barcelona to study chemistry, but after two years he left the university to concentrate on singing.
1970s and 1980s
Juan Ruax encouraged Carreras to audition for what was to become his first tenor role at the Liceu, Flavio in ''
Norma'', 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 fellow
Catalan,
Montserrat Caballé
María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
. She asked him to sing Gennaro with her in
Donizetti's ''
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto.
Her family arranged ...
'', 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 of ''
Maria Stuarda'' in London's
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
, 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 in
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
's prestigious Voci Verdiane competition which led to his Italian debut as Rodolfo in ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'' at the
Teatro Regio di Parma on 12 January 1972. Later that year he made his American debut as Pinkerton in ''
Madama Butterfly'' with the
New York City Opera. Other major house debuts followed – the
San Francisco Opera in 1973, as Rodolfo; the
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in 1973, as Alfredo in ''
La traviata''; the
Vienna Staatsoper in 1974, as the Duke of Mantua in ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
''; London's
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
in 1974, as Alfredo; the New York
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in 1974, as Cavaradossi in ''
Tosca''; and
La Scala, Milan in 1975, as Riccardo in ''
Un 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 with
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
, which resulted in valuable recordings of several less often performed Verdi operas, notably ''
Il Corsaro'', ''
I due Foscari'', ''
La battaglia di Legnano'', ''
Un giorno di regno
''Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao'' (''A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus'', but often translated into English as ''King for a Day'') is an operatic '' melodramma giocoso'' in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto ...
'' and ''
Stiffelio''.
Carreras's leading ladies during the 1970s and 1980s included some of the most famous
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
s and
mezzo-sopranos
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two oc ...
of the day:
Montserrat Caballé
María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
,
Birgit Nilsson,
Viorica Cortez,
Renata Scotto,
Ileana Cotrubaş,
Sylvia Sass,
Teresa Stratas, Dame
Kiri Te Kanawa,
Frederica von Stade,
Agnes Baltsa,
Teresa Berganza, and
Katia Ricciarelli. His artistic partnership with Ricciarelli began when they both sang in the 1972 ''La bohème'' at Parma and lasted for thirteen years, both in the recording studio and on stage. They later made a studio recording of ''La bohème'' for
Philips Classics and can be heard together on over 12 other commercial recordings of both operas and recitals, predominantly on the Philips and
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
labels.
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 was
Herbert von Karajan. He first sang under Karajan in the
Verdi Requiem at
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
on 10 April 1976, with their final collaboration in a 1986 production of ''
Carmen'', again at Salzburg. With Karajan's encouragement, he increasingly moved towards singing heavier
lirico-spinto roles, including ''
Aida'', ''
Don Carlos'', and ''Carmen'', which some critics have said were too heavy for his natural voice and may have shortened his vocal prime. (See the section on Carreras's
voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...
.)
The 1980s saw Carreras occasionally moving outside the strictly operatic repertoire, at least in the recording studio, with recitals of songs from
zarzuela,
musicals and
operettas. He also made full-length recordings of two musicals – ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'' (1985) and ''
South Pacific'' (1986) – both with
Kiri Te Kanawa as his co-star. The recording of ''West Side Story'' was unusual in two respects: Carreras was chosen and conducted by
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
. Bernstein was conducting for the first time nearly 30 years after he composed the music, and
a full-length documentary was made about the recording sessions. In a now-viral clip, the star tenor had problems with the syncopated rhythms and elocution in his solo on
''Something's Coming'' and 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 tenor
Julián Gayarre in ''Romanza Final'' (The Final Romance) and in 1987, he started working on a film version of ''La bohème'' directed by
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre.
His daughters Cristina Comencin ...
.
It was during the filming of ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'' in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
that he was found to be suffering from
acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the Lymphocyte, lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of lymphoblast, immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, ...
and given a 1 in 10 chance of survival. However, he recovered from the disease after undergoing a gruelling treatment involving
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
,
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a therapy, treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of treatment of cancer, cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignancy, malignant cell (biology), ...
and an
autologous bone marrow transplant at the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. 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 in ''
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...
'' (Mérida, Spain 1989) and in the world premiere of
Balada's ''Cristóbal Colón'' (Barcelona, 1989).
1990–present

The 1990s continued to see Carreras performing on the operatic stage in ''
Carmen'' and ''
Fedora'' and making role debuts in ''
Samson et Dalila
''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...
'' (
Peralada, 1990),
Verdi's ''
Stiffelio'' (London, 1993), and
Wolf-Ferrari's ''
Sly'' (Zurich, 1998). However, his opera performances became less frequent as he increasingly devoted himself to concerts and recitals. His final operatic performances at the
Gran Teatre del Liceu, the opera house where his career began, were in ''Samson et Dalila'' (March 2001). He reprised the title role in ''Sly'' in Tokyo in 2002 and in 2004 performed at the
Vienna State Opera in fully staged versions of the final act of ''Carmen'' and Act 3 of ''Sly''. 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 in
Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
. He reprised the role in August 2014 at the Festival Erl in Austria and in January 2015 at the
Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
In 1990 the first
Three Tenors concert took place in the
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...
in Rome on the eve of the 1990
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
finals. It was originally conceived to raise money for Carreras's leukemia foundation and as a way for his colleagues,
Plácido Domingo and
Luciano 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 the ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' television 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 Barcelona
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, 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 to
art song
An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...
,
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 as
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...
,
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, and
Giorgia Fumanti. Beginning in 2002, Carreras scaled back his live performances to recitals and orchestral concerts.
In an interview published in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' on 8 May 2009, Carreras announced that he would no longer perform principal opera roles but was still open to recitals.
Humanitarian work
Following his own recovery from
leukaemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
, 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) in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. The foundation, which publishes a tri-monthly magazine on its activities, ''Amigos de la Fundación'', concentrates its efforts in four main areas:
*Development of clinical research into the cure and treatment of leukaemia through scholarships and research grants.
*Campaigns to increase bone marrow and
cord blood donation for leukaemia patients requiring transplants, along with the operation of REDMO, the Spanish national registry of bone marrow donors.
*Strengthening of the research and clinical infrastructures in both leading international institutions and hospitals and laboratories in the developing world.
*Provision of social services to leukemia patients and their families, including free accommodation near transplant centres.
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 in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
to 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 for
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
.
Awards and distinctions
Carreras has received numerous awards and distinctions for both his artistic and humanitarian work. These include: Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted
Order of the White Elephant
__NOTOC__
The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...
of Thailand (2019); Commander of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
and Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
(France); Knight Grand Cross and
Grand 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 from
Queen Sofia of Spain, the
Prince of Asturias Prize for Art (joint winner, 1991), the
Grand Cross of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany and the
Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia (June 1984).
Carreras has received the
Bavarian Order of Merit, the
Steiger Award (2006) and the St. George Order of the
Semperoper (
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, 2010).
Honorary Medal of the city of
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
on 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 from
Loughborough University.
On 23 February 2004, the Austrian Post Office issued a 1
€ stamp to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut at the
Vienna Staatsoper.
In 2004, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement.
In 2009, he received the
Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
He has Honorary Doctorates from the
University of Barcelona and
Miguel Hernández University (Spain);
Napier,
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
universities (United Kingdom); the
Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology (
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
); the
University of Camerino (Italy);
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
(United States); the
University of Coimbra (Portugal); the
National University of Music Bucharest (Romania);
Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany, 3 May 2006);
University of Saarland (2012); the
University of Pécs (Hungary) and most recently,
Kyunghee University (Korea) and the
University of Porto (Portugal).
In Spain the central plaza in
Sant Joan d'Alacant bears his name, as do two theatres – the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca (near
Tarragona) and The Teatro Josep Carreras in
Fuenlabrada.
Family
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 the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, and when the
Franco government 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. In ''José 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 the
Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès. He has conducted many of Carreras's concerts since the late 1990s as well as his opera performances in ''Sly'' at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in June 2000.
Voice
In its prime, Carreras's voice was considered one of the most beautiful
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
voices of the day. The Spanish critic, Fernando Fraga has described it as a
lyric tenor with the generosity of a
spinto, having "a noble
timbre
In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
, richly coloured and sumptuously resonant". This is particularly true of the middle
range of 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 of ''
Tosca'' with
Montserrat Caballé
María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
in the title role and conducted by
Sir Colin Davis.
According to several critics his assumption of the heavier spinto roles such as ''
Andrea Chénier'', Don José in ''
Carmen'', ''
Don Carlo'', and Alvaro in ''
La forza del destino'' put 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.
The ''
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'' wrote of his 1984 ''Andrea Chénier'' at London's
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
: "Switching effortlessly from the lyric poet Rodolfo in ''La Bohème'' a few weeks ago to the heroic poet Chenier, the Spanish tenor's vocal artistry held us spellbound throughout." Of his 1985 performance in ''Andrea Chénier'' at
La Scala (preserved on DVD), Carl Battaglia wrote in ''
Opera News'' that 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 in ''
Opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
'' also 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.
Recordings
Complete operas
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.
*Bizet: ''Carmen'' (Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, Leona Mitchell, Samuel Ramey, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine) DVD Deutsche Grammophon 73000
*Bizet: ''Carmen'' (Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, José van Dam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan) CD Deutsche Grammophon 410 0882
*Donizetti: ''L'elisir d'amore'' (Katia Ricciarelli, José Carreras, Leo Nucci, Susanna Rigacci,
Domenico Trimarchi, Coro della RAI di Torino, Orchestra Sinfonica Della Rai Di Torino, Claudio Scimone) CD Philips 00289 475 4422
*Donizetti: ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Samuel Ramey, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Jesús López-Cobos) CD Philips 00289 470 4212
*Giordano: ''Andrea Chénier'' (José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Eva Marton, Nella Verri, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Chailly) DVD Kultur
*Halévy: ''La Juive'' (June Anderson, Julia Varady, José Carreras, Philharmonia Orchestra,
Antonio de Almeida) CD Philips 00289 475 7629
*Massenet: ''Werther'' (José Carreras, Frederica Stade,
Isobel Buchanan, Thomas Allen, Robert Lloyd, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis) CD Philips 00289 475 7567. For details, see
Werther (Colin Davis recording)
*Puccini: ''La Bohème'' (Katia Ricciarelli, José Carreras, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis) CD Philips 00289 442 2602
*Puccini: ''Manon Lescaut'' (Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras, Paolo Coni, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Riccardo Chailly) CD Decca 460-750-2
*Puccini: ''Madama Butterfly'' (Mirella Freni, Teresa Berganza, José Carreras, Juan Pons, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli) CD Deutsche Grammophon 423 5672
*Puccini: ''Tosca'' (Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras,
Ingvar Wixell, Chorus of the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis) CD Philips 00289 464 7292
*Puccini: ''Turandot'' (Eva Marton, José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, John-Paul Bogart; 2008 remaster of 1983 Harold Prince video production at Vienna State Opera House, Lorin Maazel) DVD Arthaus Musik 107319
*Rossini: ''Otello'' (Frederica von Stade, Nucci Condò, José Carreras, Salvatore Fisichella, Gianfranco Pastine, Samuel Ramey, Ambrosian Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Jesús López Cobos) CD Philips 00289 432 4562. For details, see
Otello (Jesús López Cobos recording)
*Saint-Saëns: ''Samson et Dalila'' (Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, Jonathan Summers, Simon Estes, Paata Burchuladze, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Colin Davis) CD Philips 000289 475 8706
*Strauss: ''Der Rosenkavalier'' (Frederica von Stade, Evelyn Lear, Ruth Welting, Jules Bastin, Derek Hammond-Stroud, José Carreras, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart) CD Philips 00289 442 0862. For details, see
Der Rosenkavalier (Edo de Waart recording)
*Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Ingvar Wixell, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis) CD Philips 00289 470 5862
*Verdi: ''Il Corsaro'' (Montserrat Caballé, Jessye Norman, José Carreras, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli) CD Philips 00289 475 6769
*Verdi: ''Don Carlo'' (José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Fiamma Izzo D'amico, Piero Cappuccilli, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan) DVD Sony Classical 48312
* Verdi: ''I due Foscari'' (José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Katia Ricciarelli, Samuel Ramey, ORF Symphony Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli), CD Philips 422426
*Verdi: ''La forza del destino'' (Sesto Bruscantini, José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala,
Giuseppe Patanè) CD Myto 984192
*Verdi: ''Un giorno di regno'' (Jessye Norman, Fiorenza Cossotto, José Carreras, Ingvar Wixell, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli) CD Philips 00289 475 6772
*Verdi: ''I lombardi alla prima crociata'' (José Carreras, Ghena Dimitrova, Carlo Bii, Silvano Carroli, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala,
Gianandrea Gavazzeni) DVD Kultur 2036
*Verdi: ''Rigoletto'' (Thomas Allen, Luciana Serra, José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Evgeny Nesterenko, José van Dam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan) CD Deutsche Grammophon 435 0752
*Verdi: ''Simon Boccanegra'' (Piero Cappuccilli, Mirella Freni, José Carreras, Nicolai Ghiaurov, José van Dam, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado) CD Deutsche Grammophon 449 7522
*Verdi: ''Stiffelio'' (Sylvia Sass, José Carreras, Matteo Manuguerra, ORF Symphony Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli) CD Philips 00289 475 6775
Recitals, sacred music and cross-over
*Various: ''
José Carreras Sings Catalan Songs'' Sony 1991
*Bernstein: ''West Side Story'' (with Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Kurt Ollmann, Marilyn Horne, Leonard Bernstein) CD Deutsche Grammophon 457 1992
*Puccini: ''Messa di Gloria'' (with Hermann Prey, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Scimone) CD Erato 48692
*Ramirez: ''Misa Criolla'', ''Navidad Nuestra'' CD Philips 420955
*Rodgers: ''South Pacific'' (with Kiri Te Kanawa, Sarah Vaughan, Mandy Patinkin, London Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Tunick) CD Sony MK 42205
* Verdi: ''Messa da Requiem'' (with Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, José Van Dam, Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan) CD Deutsche Grammophon 439 0332
* Various: ''Ave Maria'' (with Vienna Boys Choir, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Uwe Christian Harrer) Philips 4111382
* Various: ''José Carreras – The Golden Years'' (arias and songs by Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, Massenet, Bizet, Lehár, Handel, Gastoldi, Giordano, Tosti, Cardillo, Denza, de Curtis, Lara, d' Hardelot, Brodszky, Bernstein, Lloyd Webber) CD Philips 462892
*Various: ''The Very Best of José Carreras'' (arias from ''Aida'', ''Macbeth'', ''Cavalleria rusticana'', ''Pagliacci'', ''Turandot'', ''Don Carlo'', ''Carmen'', ''Faust'', ''Roméo et Juliette'', ''Polyeucte'', ''Le Cid'', ''Sappho'', ''Hérodiade'', ''La Juive'', ''L'Africaine'', ''Le Roi d'Ys'', ''La Périchole'') CD EMI 7243 5 75903 2 7
*Various: ''Passion'' CD Erato (Warner)
*Various: ''Pure Passion'' CD Erato (Warner)
*Various: ''Around the world'' CD Wea International (Warner)
*Various: ''Belle Epoque'' (Tagliaferri, Satie, Puccini, Zemlinsky, Schreker,...) CD Sony Classic (Sony Music)
*Various: ''Mediterranean Passion'' CD Sony Classical (Sony Music)
*Various: ''25 Meraviglioso'' CD Embassy of Music (Warner)
[Kopsch, Bianca (18 December 2013)]
"José Carreras' ode to life"
''Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
''. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
*Various: ''Christmas in Moscow'' (with Plácido Domingo, Sissel) CD Sony Classical (Sony Music)
*Various: ''
The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala'', DVD Deutsche Grammophon 00440-073-4538, 2009
Notes
References
Further reading
*Matheopoulos, H., ''The Great Tenors: From Caruso to the Present'', 1999, London: Laurence King Publishing.
*Osborne, R., ''Conversations with Karajan'', 1991, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
*Taylor, S. and Pullen, R., ''Montserrat Caballé – Casta Diva'', 1994, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd.
*Alier, R., ''El Trobador – Retrat de Josep Carreras'', 2007, Barcelona: Edicions Dau.
*Nidal, P., ''Carreras, La Pasion de Vivir'', 1988, Barcelona: Clip.
*Perez Senz, J., ''El Placer de Cantar – Un Retrato Autobiografico'', 1988, Barcelona: Ediciones de Nuevo Arte Thor.
External links
Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia– the official web site for Carreras's leukemia foundation with versions in Catalan, Spanish and English.
*
– a large data base of media articles and reviews dating from 1970 to 2002.
1958–2004.
*Complete performance records a
an
Artist agent: Kupfer Kultur & MediaJose Carreras performs ''L'Elisir d'amore - Una furtiva lagrima'' (Gaetano Donizetti) with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden (1976) on archive.orgJose Carreras and Montserrat Caballe perform ''Lucia de Lammermoor - Act 1/2, Fountain Scene Duo'' (Gaetano Donizetti) with orchestra conducted by Jesus Lopez Cobos (1976)on archive.org*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carreras, Jose
1946 births
Living people
20th-century Spanish male opera singers
21st-century Spanish male opera singers
Knights of the Legion of Honour
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu alumni
Grammy Award winners
Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music
English-language singers from Spain
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Opera singers from Catalonia
Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Singers from Barcelona
Sony Classical Records artists
Spanish operatic tenors
The Three Tenors