El dorado sonido del corazón
Fernando Fraga, Ópera Actual nº 77, January 2005
(In the original Spanish and in English translation)
El más joven de los Tres Tenores que dominaran al panorama
lírico durante casi un cuarto de siglo y definirían como
tenoril a la generación operística que se va, José Carreras,
tenía el físico, la presencia y la aptitud, y cómo no la
simpatía, de un triunfador a la vez que la voz, de noble
timbradura, de dorado sol mediterráneo, ricamente esmaltado,
de suntuosidad armónica, abundante de volumen y extensión
adecuada.
Pronto fue evidente que el Do agudo, el llamado Do de pecho,
símbolo y cetro de la tenorabilidad, se le resistía. Como
también le resultaba incómodo el Si bemol, que a fuerza de
buena voluntad iba solventando.Pese a ello, y sobre aquellos
excelentes elementos de base, destacaba su apasionada
concepción del canto, una entrega desprendida al servicio
del personaje, un fraseo de cargadas intenciones, que
lograban de inmediato la comunicabilidad directa con los
públicos. Su aire a veces frágil -y durante bastante tiempo,
fascinantemente juvenil- ampliaba estos efectos como si
fueran dulces sonidos del alma. José Carreras, tras alguna
actuación precoz -siendo un niño debutó en el Liceu como
Trujamán en El retablo de Maese Pedro, de Manuel de Falla,
en la temporada 1957-58-, comenzó su andadura profesional en
1970 con los papeles líricos propios de su
vocalidad: Rodolfo, Cavaradossi y Pinkerton de Puccini,
Edgardo (y otros similares: Devereux, Gerardo o Gennaro)
además de Nemorino de Donizetti, Alfredo o el Duque de
Mantua de Verdi, entre otros impuestos más que por la libre
elección del interesado, por las circunstancias escénicas,
la mayoría, pero también por ciertas coyunturas
discográficas; es el caso, entre otros más, de los Leicester
y Otello rossinianos, grabados en plena efervescencia del
renacimiento del compositor, que hace aún más chocante su
lectura romántica. Esta década de los años setenta fue la de
su imparable despegue, potenciado discográficamente por el
interesante contrato con Philips con el que puso al día el
Verdi juvenil, que tanto le convenía por edad, modales y
arrebatos: Edoardo, el corsario Corrado, Jacopo Foscari,
Arrigo el de Legnano y Stiffelio. Grabados entre 1974 y
1979, estos personajes conservan varios excelentes momentos
del arte de Carreras. Pero pronto se hizo evidente que
aquellos o estos márgenes eran muy estrechos para su
ambición, entusiasmo y metas.
Por sí mismo con la más o menos decisiva intervención de
Herbert von Karajan, que lo convirtió en su tenor mimado,
fueron llegándole personajes de lírico de peso o
decididamente spinto, la mayoría del catálogo verdiano, como
Rodolfo de Luisa Miller, Manrico, Riccardo, Don Alvaro, Don
Carlos y Radames, que alineó al robusto Enzo ponchielliano,
paso previo al verismo duro de Canio y Turiddu y del blando
de Chénier o del Calaf y del Des Grieux pucciniano.
Paralelamente, el tenor barcelonés hacía compatible el
repertorio italiano más sabroso con algunos personajes del
francés bien ajustados a su personalidad, abarcando desde el
lirismo galo más genuino, refinado y envolvente al
pre-verismo bizetiano: Roméo, Jean de Hérodiade, Don José,
un inesperado Eléazar, Werther, y, especialmente, el Samson
de Saint-Saëns. En los extremos, algún guiño a la
modernidad, como el oportuno y fugaz Cristóbal Colón de
Balada.
Penosas circunstancias personales, la de la enfermedad
descubierta de improviso, le imponen una retirada inmediata.
Una vez superado el trastorno, su regreso a los escenarios
se adapta a la nueva situación física y vocal. Aumentan los
recitales, a veces originados con fines benéficos, y se
hacen escasas las representaciones operísticas, en las que
reaparece Stiffelio, de escritura más bien central y donde
la impronta dramática puede dominar sobre los aspectos
musicales o canoros, instalándose en otros nuevos como Loris
Ipanoff, con despliegue lírico y convulso recitato
inteligentemente combinados, o esa interesantísima y
entrañable ruina humana que es el Sly de Wolf-Ferrari.
La voz, a menudo cansada -un cansancio ya anunciado antes de
aparecer la leucemia-, ha perdido algo del áureo y sensual
colorido, haciéndose más compacta y oscura, el canto ha
perdido algo de aquella espontaneidad y dulzura que
contagiaba entusiasmos, persistiendo siempre la capacidad de
seguir moldeando sus medios con la inteligencia y la entrega
conocidas, sin perder nunca los horizontes de la
autenticidad musical. Asimismo, de esta definitiva etapa
emergen en la voz del catalán un Samson ahora de mayor
impacto dramático y una inesperada recuperación del Gaston
de Jérusalem, por lo que al haber cantado también Carreras
el Oronte italiano de I Lombardi, se convierte en uno de los
escasísimos tenores que se hayan enfrentado a estas dos
entidades juveniles verdianas.
Un Rodolfo inolvidable
La tipología vocal de Carreras, un tenor lírico con la
generosidad vocal de un spinto y con una personalidad
extravertida, ardorosa y viril, le ponía en camino para
sacar adelante no pocos personajes románticos o
tardorrománticos de los que tanto abundan en la ópera desde
que el tenor tomó las riendas de la situación. El Rodolfo de
La Bohème pucciniana es por carácter y tipología vocal uno
de los encuentros más felices entre personaje lírico y
cantante, por la belleza vocal, la expresividad del
intérprete y la naturalidad de la concepción, encontrando
probablemente su mejor solución en las representaciones del
Met neoyorquino de 1982 con Franco Zeffirelli en la escena y
acompañado por dos sopranos a su altura: Renata Scotto y
Teresa Stratas.
Príncipe y genovés
El Don Carlo verdiano, ese príncipe de España, saturado de
aspiraciones libertarias, enamorado de su madrastra y
entregado a utópicas empresas, estaba pensado a la medida de
esta voz clara (como sugiere la juventud), ardiente (como
permiten los ideales), sensual (como su pasión por
Elisabetta) y bella (como se asocia a lo que es positivo de
los anhelos humanos).
Carreras paseó su Don Carlos por algunos de los mejores
escenarios del mundo (Salzburgo, La Scala del bicentenario,
Londres, Ginebra, Viena y, por supuesto, el Liceu
barcelonés). Para el también verdiano Gabriele Adorno del
Simon Boccanegra cuenta mucho la entrega apasionada a un
ideal propio de la edad núbil, y con la juventud que
desborda al brioso genovés se deja llevar rápidamente por
las pasiones inmediatas, sin razonar, automáticamente. Por
ello fue Verdi capaz de brindarle esa maravillosa escena
solista que comienza con "O, inferno" y que resume
fantásticamente su impulsivo carácter. José Carreras se
incorporó al equipo que cantó esta ópera en La Scala, todos
en estado de gracia (Freni, Ghiaurov, Cappuccilli), bajo la
batuta de Claudio Abbado, para una realización discográfica
de estudio, que pasa por ser una de las mejores versiones de
la excepcional partitura verdiana.
Pasión y más pasión
El Don José de Carmen lo debutó José Carreras en Madrid en
1982, en una controvertida realización escénica de Pilar
Miró con Ruza Baldani, dirigido por García Navarro. Se
consideró, por los siempre encasillados reaccionarios de
turno, que era un peligroso salto cualitativo y cuantitativo
en su repertorio, olvidándose de que más de dos décadas
atrás ya cantaban Don José Leopold Simoneau y Nicolai Gedda.
Hoy es uno de los papeles más asociados a su personalidad
por el singular proceso evolutivo del protagonista que logra
reflejar, desde el ingenuo provinciano del primer acto al
enloquecido y humillado amante despechado del último.
Werther de Massenet no ha sido, como Don José, tan
frecuentado por el tenor. Lo debutó en 1986 en la Ópera de
Viena, en un momento en que ya se contaba con un Werther
oficial, admiradísimo e imbatible: Alfredo Kraus. Pero José
Carreras demostró que el héroe de Goethe y Massenet tenía
también otras aristas, podía esgrimir otras armas que no
fueran la aristocrática majestad de Georges Thill o el
patetismo meridional de Tito Schipa. Carreras descubrió en
Werther una energía y un desprendimiento que justifican
mejor el recorrido hasta el trágico final a través de un
juego bipolar entre momentos de tristeza y de repentino
júbilo, envuelto todo en un hálito de sensual melancolía que
dejó bien reflejado en la posterior grabación de 1980,
todavía no valorada en su justa medida.
Hacia el verismo
Andrea Chénier, aunque nacido en plena efervescencia
verista, es un típico héroe romántico. Pero como está
inmerso en un mundo convulso de inquietantes
reivindicaciones sociales, se ve arrastrado por ellas. Así
ha de expresarse como un poeta en largos periodos de canto
suntuosamente lírico y como hombre, en frases de abundante
energía y expresividad. Carreras supo aprovechar esta doble
vertiente y con sus medios generosos sacarle partido a
partitura tan proclive al lucimiento tenoril, hasta el punto
de hacerla casi enteramente suya, pese a la dura competencia
de inmediatos predecesores o contemporáneos: Bergonzi,
Corelli, Domingo y, en menor medida, Pavarotti. Lo
consiguió, como ante otros desafíos en principio imposibles,
gracias al arrojo y a la personalidad, en un empeño tan bien
entendido como certeramente comunicado a través de sus
singulares posibilidades interpretativas.
Compromiso social
La leucemia que castigó al tenor a mediados de la década de
los ochenta fue un punto de inflexión no sólo en su carrera
profesional, sino, obviamente, en su forma de entender la
vida. Ahora preside y apoya activamente la Fundación
Internacional José Carreras para la lucha contra la leucemia
que fundara a raíz de su vivencia. El objetivo de esta
empresa no es otro que el de ayudar a la investigación del
diagnóstico y tratamiento de dicha enfermedad, además de
vertebrar una red mundial de donaciones de médula espinal,
ya que el transplante continúa siendo uno de los
tratamientos más eficaces. Cada año, José Carreras realiza
una docena de recitales benéficos en todo el mundo,
convocando a miles de personas que apoyan su causa a través
del arte del tenor e implicando a otros artistas en su
lucha. La televisión alemana convoca desde hace más de una
década una colecta-telemaratón en la que Carreras está
plenamente implicado, participando como artista y como
copresentador.
The golden sound of the heart
(English translation and notes © Jean Peccei )
The youngest of the Three Tenors who dominated the operatic panorama for almost a quarter of century and defined what a tenor is for the past generation of opera, José Carreras combined the physique, the stage presence, the talent, and a winning charm with a voice of noble timbre and golden Mediterranean sun - richly coloured, sumptuously resonant, abundant in volume and with an adequate range.
It soon was evident that the High C, the so-called 'Do di petto', the symbol and sceptre of the tenor, eluded him. Even B-flats were uncomfortable for him, but were resolved by sheer force of will. Despite that, and over and above the excellent basic elements, what stood out were his passionate concept of singing, a delivery entirely in the service of the character, and a phrasing highly charged with emotion that instantly communicated with the audience. His occasional air of fragility and his fascinating aura of youth (which lasted for quite a while) amplified these effects. It was as if they became the sweet sounds of the soul.
After some precocious performances (as a boy he made his Liceu debut as Trujamán in Manuel de Falla's El retablo de Maese Pedro during the 1957/58 season), José Carreras, began his professional career in 1970 with opera roles that were truly made for his voice: Puccini's Rodolfo, Cavaradossi and Pinkerton; Donizetti's Nemorino and Edgardo (and the similar roles - Devereux, Gerardo and Gennaro); and Verdi's Alfredo and Duke of Mantua.
Most of these roles were taken on because of what was being scheduled on the opera stages at the time, rather than the singer's own choice, but certainly some were also influenced by recording opportunities, amongst them Rossini's Leicester [Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra] and Otello, recordings made in the effervescence of that composer's renaissance, which made Carreras' romantic reading of those roles all the more striking. The 1970's were the decade of his unstoppable takeoff, fuelled by a very interesting recording contract with Philips which bought the youthful Verdi to modern audiences, roles which suited his age and style of singing so well: Eduardo, the corsair Corrado, Jacopo Foscari, Arrigo in La battaglia di Legnano and Stiffelio. His recordings of these roles between 1974 and 1979, preserve several of the finest moments of Carreras' art. However, it soon became evident that those roles were rather restricting and marginal for someone of his ambition, enthusiasm and vocal powers.
By his own choice and with the more or less decisive intervention of Herbert von Karajan, for whom he had become a favoured tenor, the heavy lyric or decidedly spinto roles arrived: most of the Verdian catalogue, like Rodolfo in Luisa Miller, Manrico, Riccardo, Don Alvaro, Don Carlo and Radames, to which he added the robust Enzo of Ponichelli [La Gioconda], first steps into the 'hard' verismo of Canio and Turiddu and the 'soft' one of Chénier or Calaf and Puccini's Des Grieux. In parallel with these roles, the Barcelonan tenor was able to add to the 'more flavourful' Italian repertoire French roles that were very well suited to his personality, starting with the most refined and genuine Gallic lyricism and evolving to the pre-verismo Bizet: Roméo, Jean in Hérodiade, Don José, an unexpected Eléazar [La Juive], Werther, and, especially, the Samson of Saint-Saëns. And finally, with a nod to modernity, Balada's timely but ephemeral Cristóbal Colón. (1)
Difficult personal circumstances, the unexpected discovery of his illness, had forced a sudden temporary retirement upon him. Once he had overcome this upheaval, his return to the stage was adapted to his new physical and vocal situation. The number of recitals, some of them for charity, increased, and his opera performances became fewer. He reappeared in Stiffelio, which is written more for the centre of the voice and where dramatic expression can predominate over the musical or vocal aspects. He settled into other new roles - Loris Ipanoff [Fedora] with an intelligent combination of lyric expansiveness and wrenching recitative, and that most interesting and intimate of human ruins, Wolf-Ferrari's Sly.
The voice, often tired - a fatigue already apparent before the leukemia struck - lost some of its golden and sensual colouring, becoming darker and more compact. The singing lost something of that spontaneity and sweetness that had inspired so much enthusiasm. However, what always remained was his ability to husband his resources with his well known intelligence and commitment, without ever losing sight of musical authenticity. In this definitive period, there now emerged from the Catalan's voice a Samson of greater dramatic impact and an unexpected resurrection of Gaston in Jérusalem (2). Since Carreras had also sung Oronte in I lombardi, he became one of the very few tenors to have sung both of these early Verdi roles.
An unforgettable Rodolfo
Carreras' vocal type, a lyric tenor with the generosity of a spinto, overflowing with a passionate, virile personality, put him on the path to quite a few of the romantic or late-romantic roles which abound in opera after the rise to dominance of the tenor voice. His Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, because of his personality and vocal type, is one of the happiest encounters between an opera character and a singer. The expressiveness of the interpreter, his vocal beauty, and the naturalness of his conception probably finding their best expression in the New York Met performances of 1982, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and accompanied by two sopranos who were his equals: Renata Scotto and Teresa Stratas.
Prince and Genoan
Verdi's Don Carlo, that Spanish prince imbued with libertarian aspirations, in love with his step-mother, and given to utopian causes, was thought to have been made for Carreras' voice which was clear and bright (suggesting youth), ardent (like Don Carlo's idealism), sensual (like his passion for Elisabetta) and beautiful (which one associates with all that is positive in humanity and its yearnings). Carreras took his Don Carlo to some of the best stages in the world (Salzburg, La Scala during its bicentennial, London, Geneva, Vienna and, of course, the Liceu in Barcelona).
Similarly, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra depends a great deal on a passionate delivery of the ideal young man about to be married, overflowing with Genoese brio, who allows himself to be quickly aroused by his immediate passions, without thinking, automatically. For that reason, Verdi was able to offer him that wonderful solo scene which begins with 'Or, inferno' and fantastically sums up his impulsive character. José Carreras joined a team that had sung this opera in La Scala (Freni, Ghiaurov, Cappuccilli) - all of them in a state of grace - for a studio recording under the baton of Claudio Abbado which remains one of the best versions of this exceptional Verdi score.
Passion and more passion
In Madrid 1982, José Carreras made his debut as Don José in Carmen in a controversial staging by Pilar Miró, with Ruza Baldani in the title role, and conducted by García Navarro. As always, it was considered by those of a reactionary nature to be a dangerous qualitative and quantitative leap in his repertoire, forgetting that more than two decades earlier, both Leopold Simoneau and Nicolai Gedda had sung Don José. Today it is one of the roles most associated with his personality, in which he manages to reflect the singular evolution of the character from the ingenuous provincial youth in the first act to the humiliated, desperate man driven insane by love in the last act.
Massenet's Werther has not been performed by the tenor as frequently as Don José. He made his Vienna Staatsoper debut in it in 1986 (3), at a time when the opera houses could already count on an 'official' Werther, the highly admired and incomparable Alfredo Kraus. But José Carreras demonstrated that Goethe and Massenet's hero also had other aspects to him. He could use other 'weapons' that were not the aristocratic nobility of Georges Thill or the southern pathos of Tito Schipa. Carreras discovered in Werther an energy and a detachment that better justify the character's journey through a bi-polar play between moments of sadness and sudden joy up until the tragic end. He enveloped everything in an air of sensual melancholy that is reflected well in his recording from the late 1980's, which is still not valued as much as it deserves to be.
Towards verismo
Andrea Chénier, although born in the effervescent heat of verismo, is a typical romantic hero. But he is also immersed in a world of violent social upheaval which ultimately destroys him. Thus, he has to express himself as a poet in long stretches of sumptuously lyric, virile singing, but in phrases of abundant energy and expressiveness. Carreras knew how to take advantage of this double aspect [of the role] and, with his generous gifts, to make the most of a score already inclined to make the tenor shine, to the point of making the role almost entirely his own. This was despite the stiff competition from his immediate predecessors or contemporaries: Bergonzi, Corelli, Domingo and, to a lesser extent, Pavarotti. He succeeded as he had before, in what was, in principle, an impossible challenge, thanks to his commitment and personality, in a role he understood so well and communicated so accurately through his unique interpretive ability.
Social commitment
The leukemia that struck the tenor in the middle of the 1980's was a turning point not only in his professional career, but, obviously, also in his way of looking at life. Now he presides over and actively supports the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation which he founded as a result of his experience. The objective of this foundation is none other than to aid research into the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, in addition to a world-wide network for bone marrow donations because a transplant continues to be one of the most effective treatments. Every year, José Carreras gives a dozen benefit recitals around the world, the tenor's art leading thousands of people to support his cause, and he engages other artists in his fight as well. For more than a decade, German television has been broadcasting his charity telethon each year in which Carreras is totally involved, participating as both an artist and as a co-presenter.
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(1) The opera was commissioned by the Liceu for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. It has, however, failed to enter the repertoire since its world premiere in 1989 with Carreras and Caballé in the leading roles.
(2) He had previously sung this role, but only in a concert performance - Turin, 1975.
(3) Carreras first sang Werther in San Francisco in 1978.
This page was last updated on: May 19, 2005
