Josep Carreras

MUSIC JOSEP CARRERAS JOSEPCARRERAS IS A SINGER WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY TO BE INTRANATIONAL, TO MAKE THE MOST VARIED AUDIENCES, FROM BARCELONA TO LONDON, FROM MILAN TO VIENNAAND NEW YORK, RELATE TO HIS MUSIC AS THOUGH IT WERE A PART OF THEMSELVES. he adjective international falls ori ackiiou llcilgciiicnt of the influence it Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. The following short when it comes to defining had on his career. year, he made his American debut, in the art of the Catalan tenor Josep The first time he set foot in the Liceu, the Madame Butterfly, at the New York City Carreras. Not through any inaccuracy, so Barcelona opera house where he started Opera; in 1974, in the role of Cavara- much as because it fails to say enough. It his career, was as a spectator, two years dossi, from Tosca, he made his debut is true that his voice is admired regardless after his inspiration at the cinema. Once both at the New York Metropolitan of borders or differing cultures and men- again in the company of his father, he and at the Milan Scala, and at the same talities. But this is due to the singer's ex- saw, from the fifth floor of the gallery, time, he became a regular performer at traordinary ability to be intranational, to Aida performed by none other than Re- Covent Garden, in the principal roles make the most varied audiences, from nata Tebaldi. Less than three years later, of La Traviata, L'elisir d'amore and La Barcelona to London, from Milan to the young Carreras was back at the boheme. Vienna and New York, relate to his mu- Liceu, but this time in what was to An important landmark in an already im- sic as though it were a part of themselves. become his natural place: the stage. portant career was the invitation the In this respect, it is highly significant Indeed, José Iturbi had chosen him to tenor received from Herbert von Karajan that Leonard Bernstein should have play the part of Trujumán in Manuel de to participate in a new production of Don chosen him and no-one else to play the Falla's El retablo de maese Pedro. Carlo, at the 1976 Salzburg festival. From part of Tony in his latest version of But years of study still had to pass -both that moment, the singer and the director West Side Story, Tony being the only his general education followed by spe- have collaborated closely and produced character in the opera who is genu- cialization in chemistry, and his singing splendid results, both live and recorded: inely American, without any Hispanic lessons- before the brilliant start of his Aida, Tosca, Carmen, Verdi's Requiem blood. adult career, in the 70-71 season. This is and others. Other well known directors Carreras was born in the busy district of were the other great Catalan opera star, who have worked with Josep Carreras Sants, in Barcelona, in December 1946, Montserrat Caballé, comes in. Caballé, are Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, into a family of modest means, with no who helped Carreras from the beginning, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Carlo Maria Giulini, musical antecedents, but who showed appeared with him at the Liceu in Lorin Maazel and Colin Davis among that stability and sensitivity so necessary December 1970, in a memorable Lucre- others, without forgetting the already for the encouragement. of its members' zia Borgia. The following year, encou- mentioned Bernstein. natural tendencies, whether artistic or raged by the success, Carreras went in for But Carreras's real greatness lies in the othenvise. He has often said that his the Verdi de Busseto competition, taking fact that, in spite of so much success, he great love of opera stems from the day first prize, and was given the opportunity has never been affected by the dangers of when, at the age of six, he was taken by to perform in Parma, in the role of Ric- stardom. His humanity, ever present in his father to see the film El gran cardo in Un ballo in maschera. His per- his interpretations, has been and is his Caruso, featuring Mario Lanza. At that formance immediately attracted the at- greatest quality, precisely because it is moment he decided he wanted to be an tention of al1 the Italian impresarios. the basis of his exquisite rendering of the opera singer. Even if we take this as The rest is a stream of highly acclaimed text, whatever the language, and the na- being part of the personal mythology that appearances in the most important opera tural vocal and scenic elegance of his every artist tends to create, the fact is houses of the world. Still in 1971, once characters, skills which have been poin- that the tenor has included songs from again with Montserrat Caballé, he ted out over and over again by the most the film in many recitals, as an a posteri- opened in London in a concert version of respected international critics. ¤ .

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